Smokescreen
by Fan4Life07
Summary: It's complicated, and not something either one of them talk about. It's a lot easier that way. But would things change if Kaz and Oliver were officially "friends with benefits?" Formally titled, "What Friends Are For."
1. Chapter 1

** An idea I've been thinking for a while, and have finally put into a story!**

** Thank you perpetuators for all your support! I really hope you, and everyone who comes across this story, really enjoys it!**

** It's just the start, but the boys have a long journey ahead of them.**

** Also, I know everyone is on the Oliver train, but I really think Kaz needs more love. So I'm unofficially dedicating this fic to Kaz, and hope all my Kaz fans wil show him the love he needs ^^**

* * *

With a comic book not so subtly tucked under his shirt, Oliver rushed towards the back of the bookstore to join Kaz, who had one hand holding his book and the other resting along his thigh, dangerously close to the hard-on he made no attempt to hide.

Orbit Comics didn't carry the wide selection of superhero comics that they could find in The Domain, but this new bookstore featured a back section full of Japanese adult comic books found nowhere else in the city. Downloading them off the internet was really the only accessible method to read them. And with Kaz's house full of siblings, and Oliver cautious about getting some virus that would wreck his computer, getting their hands on physical copies of these dirty comics became the highlight of their weekend.

Even though the back area was nearly empty, Oliver was still a little embarrassed to be walking around in a public place with an adult comic book. He was only grateful that he didn't have to endure the stares of older women who looked at him like he was some pervert. Kaz managed to drag himself out of bed to get to the store right at opening so it wouldn't be crowded, mostly for Oliver's sake. He didn't care who knew he was sitting in the back, resisting the urge – sometimes unsuccessfully – to palm himself through his jeans.

"Next issue of _Space Bikini Girls_?" Kaz asked.

Oliver felt his face turn even redder. What if someone had heard him?

He wasn't sure which comic Kaz reading, but from the muscular teenager on the cover shot from the back, bent over, firm butt cheeks covered by a tight white speedo, it was his best friend's usual type. The way Kaz's eyes never left the page made Oliver smile. It was only times like this when Kaz couldn't be interrupted when reading.

* * *

It was three years ago when Kaz first stumbled upon awareness of his sexuality. Oliver was staying the night for a sleepover, and after a two hour marathon of video games ranging from shooting games, racing games and the Skylar Storm RPG game Oliver insisted they play every time, the two of them got ready for bed. It was way past their bedtime, so when Kaz walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth wearing his Tecton themed pajamas, the last thing he expected to find was his brother, Kenny, jerking off on the bathroom floor.

He had heard of masturbation. All sixth graders were required to take a one-week sex-ed course, and last month, Kaz had suffered through one hour per day of Mr. Redcliff stuttering and awkwardly referencing sexual topics. As usual, Kaz spent most of class either sleeping or secretly playing games on his phone. There had been no videos since Mr. Redcliff was completely inept when it came to technology. So even though Kaz knew what masturbation was, he had never seen a demonstration. As he watched Kenny, his older brother by just a couple months, writhing on the floor and stroking his cock, Kaz felt his own dick throb at the sight.

After Kenny shuddered, every muscle in his body tensing and his toes curling involuntarily, Kaz returned to his room, nursing a painful hard-on that wouldn't go away. And it only got worse when he walked in just in time to see Oliver pulling down his pants. His hairless legs looked so smooth, and his tight white briefs hugged his body so firmly. He had Oliver had changed in front of each other plenty of times, so why was it different now?

And why did Kaz lie awake in bed replaying the scene in the bathroom, thinking what it would have been like if it had been Oliver instead of his brother. Kaz had his first wet dream that night.

Over the course of the sixth grade, Kaz had walked in on all five of his brothers naked, unintentionally at first, but as his curiosity grew, so did his cunning. Not even a locked door could prevent him for peeping, and when his own dick grew stiff between his legs, he massaged it until a weird feeling made every bone in his body feel like it was on fire.

But after his oldest brother, Kyle, threatened to pound him after Kaz walked on him in the shower, Kaz stopped trying so hard to watch his brothers jerk off. It was getting boring anyway. He decided to turn his attention to watching Oliver.

Despite his unbreakable focus, the opportunity never presented itself to see Oliver jerking off. Through seventh and eighth grade, Kaz began noticing other guys. While his friends would talk about who the prettiest girl was, and the thrill of having their first kiss, Kaz nodded and went along with the conversations. He wasn't even sure how it happened, but he developed the persona of being smooth with girls in spite of his lack of experience or interest. He didn't mind faking it all that much, except when it came to lying to Oliver. They never had secrets between them, and this felt like a big one.

On the night of their junior high school graduation, Oliver and Kaz had a party at Kaz's house. All five of his brothers chipped in and bought him a new watch. They had long forgiven him for peeping on them. His younger sisters made fake jewelry, and Oliver let them decorate him with stickers and glitter. Kaz's sisters loved Oliver like he was one of the family, sometimes even more than Kaz himself.

Kaz's parents let them stay up all night, and by three o' clock, the two boys were tired of video games and reading comic books, which meant there was nothing left to do but sleep. But after Kaz watched Oliver strip down to his white briefs, he felt the familiar stirring between his legs. Yet, even more urgent was the chance he had been waiting for.

"Oliver, I'm gay."

He had been thinking of the best way to say it for a while, but it wasn't Kaz's style to beat around the bush. Saying it straight-forward like this was the only way he could get the words out without being weighed down with worry.

Oliver looked at him for a minute, then smiled. "I know."

"What? How?"

"I'm your best friend. I've known for a while, but I didn't want to say anything and freak you out. But thanks for telling me, you know, officially."

Kaz didn't think Oliver would flip out, but if he had known it was going to be this easy, he would have said something a long time ago. Now that he knew Oliver was cool with it, Kaz decided that he wasn't going to keep his sexuality a secret. He wasn't going to let this change him. And Oliver had his back, so what did he have to worry about?

"Can I see yours?" Kaz asked.

Oliver didn't know what Kaz was asking for at first, but once he did, he let out an embarrassingly high-pitched squeal. Kaz covered his best friend's mouth with his hand, reminding him that they were in a house full of rowdy siblings who could and would get cranky without enough sleep.

"Please?"

A super crowded house may have had its disadvantages, but a bunch of little sisters who helped Kaz craft the perfect puppy dog face was one of the pluses. Oliver looked around cautiously, and Kaz locked the door to ease his friend's discomfort.

Oliver was actually doing it. Kaz had to admit that he thought it would take more convincing, but with that one look, that one "please," Oliver pulled down his underwear just enough to expose his dick, which was semi-hard. After waiting years to see it, Kaz could hardly believe that he finally had Oliver's dick right before him.

"You have to show me yours too," Oliver whispered. He was starting to breathe a little heavier.

Kaz grinned as he pulled down his pajama pants and white briefs, proudly exposing his dick, full hard at four and a half inches. Oliver gasped, his own cock starting to throb in response. They were both sitting on their knees in front of one another, in the dark of Kaz's room.

He had come this far following instinct. Kaz reached forward and took hold of Oliver's length. The brunet shuddered, but didn't push Kaz's hand away when his friend started stroking. Kaz imitated his brothers' movements that he had seen while watching them. He had studied their technique, and from the way Oliver was lightly thrusting into his palm, Kaz had learned well.

He was surprised when he felt Oliver's warm hand around his own shaft, but didn't halt his movement. Conversely, he quickened, and Oliver matched his pace by speeding up. Their hands were blurs on each other's dicks, low moans filling the room. It was when Oliver used his free hand to squeeze Kaz's balls, that he fell over the edge and came. A couple ropes of cum shot from his cockhead, and Oliver whined when he came seconds later.

Panting for breath, they lay beside each other. Kaz was sure this was when Oliver would freak out, but his friend just smiled at him. "Mine's a little bigger."

* * *

Kaz flipped the page, a wide grin spreading across his face when he saw the protagonist of the story wearing nothing but a white speedo. On one page showed different angles, each frame highlighting one of his perfect body parts: his chest, his crotch, his butt. But when he heard that familiar voice, he hid the book behind his back and crossed his legs to make his erection less prominent.

"Hey, what's up, Kaz, Oliver?"

It was Max, a sophomore at their school who worked part-time at Orbit Comics. A skateboarder with olive skin and smile that kept Kaz's gaze, Max was the biggest reason Kaz woke up early to come to this comic book store. He spent thirty minutes making sure his hair had the perfect height, that his clothes made him look just the right amount of cool without appearing like he tried too hard. He even put on deodorant for Max. The routine made him feel a little silly, but he was crazy about Max.

"Hey, Max," Oliver said. He had hid his book behind his back too. "What's up?"

"Not much. It looks like another slow day. I was getting kind of bored, so I came back here to find you two."

Kaz really hoped his cheeks weren't as red as he thought they were. "That sucks. You could hang with us. We're not doing anything either…not that we're losers who don't have plans on a Saturday not that you're a loser or anything…I just mean…"

Max smiled. "Don't sweat it. Lemme just finish stacking these new comics, and I'll be back in a couple minutes."

After Max left, Oliver elbowed Kaz. "Smooth." He had to admit it was pretty funny to see Kaz getting so worked up over talking to a guy. How many times had Kaz teased him for being awkward with girls? It was the reversal he had been waiting for.

"Was it really that bad? I think my brain just went dead for a minute."

"Well your mouth definitely didn't." Now, Kaz was positive that his cheeks were red. "Just do what you always tell me when I have trouble talking to girls. Relax."

"Relax? I can't relax when my heart feels like it's being pumped up like a balloon ready to explode. Jeez. I don't know how you feel this way around Skylar all the time. It's driving me crazy."

"You get used to it." Oliver stood up and stretched. "I have to go. I'm meeting Skylar for breakfast. She's never been to a Normo breakfast buffet, so I'm taking her."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, you too."

Kaz noticed Max standing on a ladder, his shirt riding up enough to expose the small of his back. He covered his crotch with his hands. He was going to need all the luck in the world.

* * *

Standing outside of Breakfast with Love, Oliver checked off all the necessary precautions: Did his breath stink? Was his shirt buttoned correctly? Was his fly open? They were the simplest tasks, but Oliver couldn't trust his mind to focus when he was minutes away from meeting Skylar. His stomach was aching, but he wasn't sure if that was from numbing nervousness, or because he hadn't eaten yet.

"Oliver!"

As Skylar ran towards him, Oliver imagined the cartoon version of himself, struck so many times by Cupid that his back was full of holes. She was always beautiful, but there was something about her look today that was even more captivating than usual. And when she smiled at him, Oliver thought he was going to melt.

"Sorry for making you wait. I ran into this kid who asked my autograph. He thought I was a model or something, and I didn't want to disappoint him so I went along with it."

"Well you are beautiful enough to be a model." Oliver coughed, and looked down. "I mean, you know…let's go inside!"

Hadn't he told Kaz to just relax earlier? Why couldn't he do the same?

They walked inside and sat down at a window table, when an old woman with blue hair named Phyllis came to wait on them.

"Don't you two make the most adorable couple? The buffet is right down there, but if there's anything you need, you just let me know."

Olier heard snickering, and when he turned around, he saw Jeremy, or as he liked to refer to him, Jeremy the Jerk. A senior, captain on the football team and never without a girl fawning all over him, Jeremy was the epitome of popularity. But with his high social standing came the most arrogant narcissistic personality Oliver had ever seen. Just being in the same restaurant irritated Oliver, but he was determined to not let it get to him.

"So, Skylar, what's your favorite thing about Earth?"

"Normos are so friendly. Everywhere I go, complete strangers say hi. I was really scared about fitting in but when everyone is so nice, it makes me feel right at home."

The sound of glass breaking caught Oliver's attention. He turned around and saw Phyllis on the ground in front of Jeremy and his friends, cleaning up the glass. Oliver took a deep breath and turned back to Skylar. He wasn't going to let this jerk ruin his good time, no matter how hard that was.

"And don't get me wrong. Hanging out with you and Kaz is great, but I want to do my own thing, you know? Make new friends, have plans on the weekend that don't involve watching Kaz clip his toenails. So I was thinking about getting a part time job. What do you think?"

"I think that's—"

Another loud crash pulled Oliver's attention away, and when he saw Gus on the floor, Jeremy standing above him and laughing, Oliver couldn't take it anymore. He stormed over to his friend and picked his glasses off the ground.

"Do you work hard to be such a jerk or are you just naturally good at it?"

"What did you say you little nerd?" Jeremy asked.

"You heard me. What gives you the right to treat other people like this?"

"Because I'm captain of the football team, and you are a comic book geek. I stopped liking that stuff when I was seven." Jeremy's football friends all laughed at the insult, the smirk on the captain's face growing even wider from praise. "And since you obviously don't understand your place, I better teach you a lesson."

Oliver's eyes widened when Jeremy grabbed his shirt collar, and instantly, he shut his eyes, bracing himself for a fist. But instead he was dragged across the restaurant, the difference between Jeremy's muscular body and his own now glaringly obvious.

Seconds later, he found himself in the bathroom, a hand clutching his hair. Then, his face was in the toilet.

He couldn't hear very much, but the one sound Oliver knew was laughing. Kaz had taken him on plenty of wild moments, many of them ending in embarrassing results that he couldn't explain to anyone else, like that time they came home from the amusement park in their underwear, and honey covering their whole bodies. He had gotten used to embarrassment, but this was nothing short of humiliating. Oliver felt like crying.

When the grip loosened on his hair, he sat up and coughed for breath. Skylar pushed open the door to the boys' bathroom, and called to Oliver, but he didn't want her to see him. Not like this. Not after she had seen Jeremy pull him around like a rag doll. He had looked like a pathetic loser, definitely not the type of guy would ever be interested in dating.

"Oliver, are you okay?"

"Go away."

"But Oliver, I…"

"Just leave me alone!"

He hadn't sounded that angry since Kaz had broken his limited edition collectors' item Crimson Blaze action figure after a heated argument. He only felt worse after he heard the door slam. The image of Skylar's upset face was seared into his mind, but with toilet water dripping from his hair and face, down his shirt, Oliver didn't feel bad for anyone but himself.

* * *

Kaz ignored the uncomfortable tightening sensation in his stomach when he turned the page of Space Bikini Girls, and saw three enormous pairs of breasts, all six nipples fully erect. How did Oliver find this stuff attractive? How did any guy?

Even though he promised himself that he wouldn't hide his sexuality anymore, Kaz didn't think it was necessary to broadcast it either. He was in high school now survival of the fittest, and after reading horror stories on the internet about bullying so bad that kids killed themselves, Kaz decided he had to protect himself. He didn't want people to treat him any differently just because he was gay. That was how he forced himself to "fake straight" around Max. The Latino boy didn't seem like he would suddenly turn on him, but what did Kaz really know about the sophomore? When he broke it down, it wasn't much.

As Kaz's eyes drifted down Max's hairless legs he noticed a scar along the older boy's knee.

"Skateboarding accident." Kaz looked up at Max. Had he just been caught looking? If he had been, Max wasn't upset, judging from the small smile on his face. "A year ago on my first day of high school, I was trying to impress some guys with my moves, and I totally ate it."

Kaz liked Max's skateboard talk, and the way his face lit up whenever the subject came up. The first time Kaz had seen Max, the older boy was carrying a skateboard. He had an unruly mop of brown hair, and looked so comfortable around his friends. In spite of his demeanor, Kaz had been terrified of starting high school. He was in awe that this guy carried himself with such natural swag.

"I wish I could skateboard. My brother, Kenny, tried to teach me once, but I could barely stand on the board."

"You should have seen me the first time I got on a board. Scrape City. But you get used to it. If you ever feel like giving it another try, I'll be your teacher anytime."

Kaz's face burned with heat at the thought of him bent over a desk, pants and underwear at his ankles, and Max spanking his bare butt. His balls ached, and resisting the urge to grab and squeeze them until he shot his load into his boxer briefs was overwhelming.

Why was he so horny all the time? Granted, the adult magazine that he had been reading before Max came was still fresh in his mind, but Kaz felt his hormones were always in a frenzy. And knowing that the guys he found attractive were most likely straight only frustrated Kaz more. How was he supposed to know who was gay and who wasn't? It wasn't exactly the question you could ask a guy without risking getting beat up.

"You okay?" Kaz snapped back into reality when he heard Max's voice. "You were spacing out pretty hard."

"It was nothing…I was just thirty."

"There's some water in my backpack. Feel free to take a sip."

Not wanting to get caught in his lie, Kaz fished through Max's backpack. But what caught his attention was a piece of paper with a sketch of a guy on it, a shirtless guy.

It was incredible, more detailed and realistic than the fanart he spent hours scouring for on the internet. But as he was committing the image to memory, the picture was snatched away.

"Dude, I didn't say you could go throw my stuff like that." Max stuffed the sketch into his backpack. "I gotta get back to work."

What had just happened? For an instant, Kaz thought he had a chance of his feelings being reciprocated, but that hope was snatched away as quickly as Max had grabbed his paper. In the silence of the adult comic book section, Kaz tried to piece together everything that had happened in the last thirty seconds.

Just because Max had a drawing of a shirtless guy in his backpack, it didn't mean that he was gay. Kaz didn't even know if Max was the one who had drawn it. There were too many variables, and Kaz was left confused and depressed when Max avoided eye contact on his way out.

* * *

Kaz was both surprised and relieved when he saw Oliver sitting on his door step. Neither one of them had to say anything. It was obvious from the looks on their faces that their afternoons hadn't gone as planned. Curled up on Kaz's couch, blankets wrapped around their bodies, they drank hot chocolate, dunking every fluffy marshmallow into the liquid they could manage.

"So what happened with Skylar?"

"Everything was going fine until Jeremy gave me a swirlie."

"Dude!"

"I know! It was so embarrassing. I think some of that toilet water got in my pants." Oliver squirmed in his seat before he took a big gulp of hot chocolate. "And I was so mad that I yelled at Skylar. It was bad. What happened with Max?"

Kaz sighed and sunk deeper into the couch. "I don't know. I found this drawing of a shirtless guy in his backpack, and all of the sudden, he was pissed at me. I thought maybe…whatever, it doesn't matter."

It had only been there for a moment, but the expression on Kaz's face was unmistakable. Kaz was lonely.

His best friend didn't like to talk about it, but Oliver knew Kaz was lonely. And he wished he could make it better, but he couldn't fully access Kaz's feelings. Even though his experience with girls was non-existent, most of the girls that he liked were probably straight. Kaz didn't have that luxury. It must have sucked. Oliver would have loved to even the playing field, to make every guy bisexual just for Kaz's sake.

Kaz looked down and saw Oliver's hand on his own. Was it happening again? They never talked about it, but in these moments of silence, when Oliver was looking at him like this, it was as if Kaz's mind went blank. Whether it was a good idea or not, what this meant for both of them, it was irrelevant. It wasn't about _want_, Kaz _needed_ this. And maybe Oliver did too.

* * *

Standing in the middle of Kaz's room, both boys undid their shoelaces, going slowly to gauge any hesitancy in the other's face and body language. When they were comfortable enough to continue, they peeled off their shirts and slowly pulled down their pants and underwear, leaving them completely naked, save for their white ankle-length socks. Kaz was already rock-hard. He couldn't help it. This was how it always was.

Oliver smiled sheepishly, his cock still soft. He was the one who initiated it, but that initial nervousness never failed to set in at the beginning. Kaz looked at him, and Oliver nodded. He tensed when Kaz took hold of his length.

It was the only dick Kaz had ever seen in person other than his own, but he was fully familiar with it. He knew the precise upstroke that made Oliver shudder, pre-cum gushing from the slit. And after using his free hand to roll Oliver's balls, Kaz had his best friend just as hard as he was.

Oliver's body was a far cry from the muscular ones that Kaz found most attractive, and he didn't have natural coolness like Max, but as his eyes traveled down Oliver, Kaz felt excited.

Oliver took Kaz's hand, and led him into the bed. Without hesitating, Kaz pressed their bodies together almost immediately.

"Sorry, I was cold."

Oliver smiled. Kaz said that every time. And it never failed to ease Oliver's nerves a little.

Their bodies quickly fell into their natural rhythm, acting upon instinct while their minds began to drift off. Oliver's hands fell into their usual places: one on Kaz's butt, and the other along his friend's shoulder blades. Kaz draped one leg over Oliver's, his head resting on the brown-haired boy's shoulders. Sometimes, he wondered if it would be okay to kiss Oliver, but they only did that the first time, so Kaz assumed Oliver didn't like it. That was fine. Oliver was straight after all. Even when they were naked and clutching each other's bodies, there had to be limits.

He was never sure what thought pushed him over the edge, what passed through his mind when he shuddered in Oliver's embrace. But it was in the post-orgasmic haze, when their heavy breathing filled the air, that Kaz wondered what Oliver thought about, was thinking about in these moments now.

"Still cold?" Oliver asked.

"Nope."

That was what they always said. Then their clothes were back on, and it was as if the past ten minutes hadn't just happened.

* * *

**Hopefully it was a beginning that captured some attention. It's going to have a different atmosphere from Boys Do Cry, and this one will be more centered on Kaz, though it explores both boys' experiences.**

** Reviews are definitely appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

** Thank you soooo much to everyone who has read/reviewed/messaged me about this fic. The amount of support really surprised me, and made me really happy that you all are interested! So I present this new chapter!**

** My vision for this story is different from Boys Do Cry, in that this one takes on (hopefully) a more realistic high school experience, and thus will be touching on some darker themes. **

** This chapter includes underage drinking at a party, and things getting a little out of control. Hopefully you will all take the journey with me as I navigate this story.**

** On a slightly random note, I'm mulling new names for this fic. I'm just not happy with the title as it is right now, so in the future, it's pretty much promised that it will be re-named.**

** Reviews are especially welcome with this fic since it takes on a different direction than usual. I hope you like it!**

* * *

Rock music pouring through his headphones, Kaz sat in is empty first period classroom forty minutes before class, with the lights off. It was the only place where he could be alone because no one but the janitor and a couple unprepared teachers came to school this early. His iPod had become his savior in times like this, when he didn't want to think about anything or anyone. But after this weekend, it was hard to put his brain on pause. It kept rewinding.

Sunday morning, Kaz had sent Max a Facebook message: _I'm really sorry about what happened. Can we talk about it? _

He checked his Facebook every ten minutes, sometimes every five when he couldn't find a momentary distraction. Once two hours had passed with no reply, Kaz thought he was going to have a panic attack. It was at 1:00 when he saw that Max had read the message, and was online. Kaz wanted to message him right then and there, but Max signed off before he had the chance. How was he supposed to make things better if Max wouldn't give him a second to explain himself?

And the more he thought about it, the more Kaz questioned what he was apologizing for. If Max didn't want him to see the sketch, why did he just stuff it in his backpack so carelessly? Something so secret should have kept in a hidden place. It wasn't Kaz's fault, and Max was being a jerk for not talking to him. Conversely, now Kaz was mad at Max.

It wasn't like he planned on walking around pouting for the rest of his life, but sometimes being mad was a good stress reliever. And it was easy to do just that while the lyrics to "Eve of Destruction" flowed through his earbuds, and filled his ears.

But it wasn't just this tension with Max that was weighing heavily on Kaz. This strange feeling always came over him after he found himself in Oliver's arms, something not quite like, but very close to guilt.

Even though it was never his intention, Kaz always ended up feeling like he was taking advantage of Oliver.

The first time was in September, just after Oliver had just had a huge fight with his dad about "growing up." Oliver's dad wasn't too fond of his son's fascination with superheroes thinking it was time to grow out of that immature hobby and focus on something more meaningful. Of course, Oliver couldn't say that his extensive comic book knowledge was actually saving the superheroes who saved the world, so the lecture ended in a screaming match, and Oliver storming out. There was only place he could go.

_"He'll never understand. I'll probably have to get a part time job or something."_

_ "Ew, work? Don't we get enough of that at school?" Kaz said._

_ Oliver smiled. "It's not like you ever do any of it."_

_ "Well, it's the principle of the matter. We're in high school now, and we shouldn't have to worry about stupid stuff like jobs. We have to get invited to parties, and get dates, you know, the really important things. How are we ever going to get popular if we're busy with jobs?"_

_ "I know, but my dad…"_

_ "Besides, the more time you spend at Mighty Med, the closer you get to be to Skylar."_

_ Leave it to Kaz to know exactly how to put things in perspective. "Thanks Kaz, I'm glad you're my best friend."_

_ Kaz was going to say something, but Oliver put his hand on his thigh, and his brain momentarily short-circuited. It was just a friendly gesture, but no one had ever touched Kaz in a place so intimate, so close to his crotch, which was beginning to show just how much he enjoyed the touch._

_ He swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling dry and his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Oliver wasn't pulling his hand away, and now the brown-haired boy was looking at him. Kaz really wanted to kiss Oliver right now, and he felt bad for thinking that way about his best friend, but how could he not in a moment like this? It was totally the prelude for something, but what exactly that "something" was, Kaz didn't know._

_ But he got his answer when he watched Oliver's hand slide between his legs, and gave his crotch a squeeze. _

_ "Oliver," he whispered. "What are you doing?"_

_ Oliver didn't respond, mostly because he was just as clueless as Kaz. It was like another body experience, watching his hand gently rub his best friend's erection through his jeans. He gave another gentle squeeze to Kaz's balls, before Kaz pushed his hand away. _

_ Kaz stood up and pulled off his jeans and underwear, then Oliver did the same. Their shirts were shucked seconds later, and before Kaz knew it, they were naked and under the covers, hands exploring each other's bodies. _

_ It was all over too fast for Kaz, who wanted to savor this moment. Who knew when he would get another chance to touch a guy like this, one that he could trust? What if there never was another guy like that? Maybe Oliver was his only chance. He was caught between loneliness and arousal, unsure of which force was driving him more. But by the time he came, his cum squirting between his and Oliver's dicks, Kaz was too busy trying to recall how exactly they got to this point, and if they would ever find themselves here again._

And they did. And Kaz felt comforted every time. That was why he felt guilty, because he didn't know what Oliver was getting out of it, and it would be selfish for him to continue letting this happen if Oliver wasn't benefitting in some way too. But he had no way of knowing because he and Oliver never talked about it afterward. It seemed easier to pretend like nothing ever happened, and Kaz tis would pass in a couple days. It always did. But until then, tuning out the world with music from Apocalips always seemed like the best escape.

* * *

When kids started filtering into the class, Kaz turned up his music just a little louder. He already knew the usual Monday conversations: the weekend was too short, homework wasn't done, and the majority of them could use another three hours of sleep. He had heard it all before. For a moment, Kaz considered cutting class. If he was convincing enough, maybe the nurse would let him lie down in her office.

That was when Kyler walked into the classroom, his shorts at their usual length, about three inches away from being violating the dress code for being too short. Kyler was a special case, and Kaz was both felt guilty for and was jealous of his classmate.

Although there was no definite proof that Kyler was gay, the rumor mill that circulated was bigger than their math textbook. Kyler sucked guys off in the school bathrooms, guys gave him money to suck him off, there were too many stories to keep track of. Being accused of being was practically a death sentence for any teenage boy, and Kyler certainly didn't make it any easier on himself with his constantly too short shorts, the way he swiveled his hips slightly when he walked, and the way his eyes seemed to follow the jocks when they passed by. All the signs pointed to Kyler being the "cocksucker" that he was called in the whispers through the hallways and bathroom stalls. But Kyler never suffered the bullying anyone else would have had to endure, because he was Jeremy's younger brother.

Everyone knew Jeremy would beat the crap out of anyone who laid a hand on his little brother, so Kyler got away with what nobody else could. So, Kaz couldn't help but be a little jealous that Kyler got to flaunt himself through school, be free in a way Kaz could only dream about. But all the rumors and the looks Kyler got, Kaz could never deal with that kind of pressure. That was why, like most guys, he avoided Kyler so he wouldn't get swept into the river of rumors. He didn't have a safety net if his sexuality was exposed.

"Hey, Kaz," Kyler said, taking a seat next to him. Another thing that wasn't happening Kyler was his debut-era Justin Bieber hair-cut, which Kaz actually thought was pretty cute.

"What's up?"

Kaz heard someone a couple rows back whisper "fag," and even though he knew the person was talking about Kyler, his paranoia began to spread through his body like poison. He was tempted to ignore Kyler, but couldn't bring himself to do it. A small conversation wasn't going to kill his social standing. Hopefully.

"Not much."

He hoped short responses would be subtle enough, but Kyler carried on the conversation single-handedly.

"My brother's having a party tonight. You wanna come over?"

There were thousands of reasons why Kaz shouldn't have gone to Jeremy's party. It was a Monday and his parents wouldn't even consider letting him go considering his grades. And they definitely wouldn't have allowed him if they knew how notorious Jeremy's parties were for getting out of control.

Infamous? More like legendary for how many people were passed out on the floor, how many people made out until their lips were sore, how a reputation could change in just one night.

It sounded like fun.

"Sure."

This was just what Kaz needed, something fun to keep his mind off Max. And if the rumors were true, Jeremy's house was so big that avoiding Kyler wouldn't take much effort. Even though Kaz knew his chances of actually talking to Jeremy were practically non-existent, Kaz was driven by the opportunity.

He could never admit it out loud, especially to Oliver, but Kaz thought a lot about Jeremy. Not like he thought about Max. This was almost pure animal attraction. Light blond hair and deep blue eyes, and a build that perfectly suited the quarterback, Jeremy was the closest thing to perfection at Logan High School. Too bad he was such a jerk.

Kaz knew that. Oliver didn't assign the jock the nickname "Jeremy the Jerk" for no reason, and Kaz wasn't denying that Jeremy's personality left a lot to be desired, but to put it bluntly, Jeremy was really hot. And that was good enough for Kaz.

Oliver. What was he going to tell Oliver? There was no way his best friend would understand how big a deal this was. They would just get into a big fight, and neither one of them needed that right now. Kaz was doing them both a favor by keeping this a secret.

* * *

Oliver wasn't sure whether to be excited or terrified when he got Kaz's text telling him to come to the gym, _now_. The optimist in him liked to think that Kaz had devised some scheme to get back on Skylar's good side. Out of breath by the time he stepped inside, Oliver thought his heart was going to explode in a mess of blood and horror after he pushed his way through the crowd and saw Skylar chained to the pole of the basketball hoop.

Skylar!" Oliver shouted. He could see her annoyed expression even far from away, but he approached her anyway. "Who did this to you?"

"My name is Connie, and I did this to myself. Well, technically, my new friends in the Protest Club did this to me, but after they told me about this great plan they had, I volunteered."

The Protest Club were basically angry rejects who didn't have any other friends. They definitely weren't the crowd Skylar should have been hanging out with. Oliver knew he was being judgmental, but that was what everyone thought. It wasn't personal. It was high school.

"Sky-, I mean, Connie, don't you think this whole thing is a bit extreme? What are you even protesting?"

The confusion that flashed across her face was glaringly obvious. "Well, I'm not exactly sure but I'm sure it's important. Besides they're my new friends."

"Those guys aren't your friends. Friends wouldn't set up you up to get in really big trouble if a teacher finds about this, and they wouldn't let you do something like this alone."

"Shows how much you know. They said they would come join me after they got more supplies."

"And how long ago was that?"

Skylar didn't answer, but Oliver could see from the change in her expression when she put all the pieces together. And when he saw tears beginning to work their way from her eyes, Oliver felt rage course through his body. He wouldn't forgive anyone who humiliated Skylar like this.

Once he started untying her, the crowd started to disperse. How could everyone just stand and watch her like a zoo animal, and not help her? And where was Kaz? If he knew this was going on, why hadn't he done anything?

Oliver put all those questions behind him, and found an empty classroom, where Skylar cried against his shoulder. He stroked his hair, and didn't say anything. Right now, he just wanted Skylar to feel better, but he didn't know how. He felt helpless.

* * *

Which outfit was cool enough to wear to Jeremy's party without looking like he had spent forty-two minutes putting it together? Make that forty-three.

Standing completely naked in the middle of the room, Kaz sifted through his options for the umpteenth time. After seeing the crowd in the gym, he ducked out and texted Oliver. Knowing that he and Skylar were fighting. Oliver coming to the rescue was clearly better than Kaz taking care of it. They were probably making up at this very moment. Kaz hoped his heroic efforts would lessen the sting of going to Jeremy's party. Oliver would find out.

Secrets just didn't work in their relationship. He just hoped Oliver could see how beneficial this was to both of them, to their whole friend group. If tonight went well, it could have been the beginning of popularity. And Oliver couldn't deny that he wanted it just like Kaz. Everyone in high school did.

When he heard his phone ring, Kaz picked it up, and read the new text.

_Looking forward to hanging out with you tonight!_

It was Kyler, again. Exchanging phone numbers probably wasn't the smartest idea, but Kyler promised to text him the address, so Kaz agreed. He didn't expect a bunch of emoticon-soaked texts that made Kyler look like his girliest classmate.

Kaz ignored the text, and re-focused his attention on picking out clothes. He didn't want to give Kyler the wrong idea. If Kyler thought anything could develop between them, then his reputation was already at a bigger risk than it was from accepting Kyler's invitation. Kaz looked at the clock. Another four hours until the party started. How was he supposed to kill time?

Naked.

He took a thirty minute bath with the works, scented candles and bubble bath, all the stuff he teased Oliver about. Taking a bath was a rarity for Kaz, because he never wanted to waste his time sitting in a tub doing nothing when he could be playing a video game, or reading a comic book. But the further he sunk into the tub, the more Kaz felt as ease.

His mind wandered from point to point, skipping across patches of thought with no connection, until images of Jeremy in the shower snuck into his mind. It was frustrating.

Jeremy wasn't only out of his league because he was handsome and popular. It was because he was another boy, a straight boy, like every other guy that Kaz thought about for longer than a second. So when his dick got hard, Kaz didn't hesitate to stroke it under the soapy water, because Jeremy was just another hard-bodied fantasy mannequin. If every straight guy was off limits to his urges, Kaz would have been a lot less familiar with his right hand.

And one thing that Kaz quickly learned was that _no_ guy was off-limits. Kyler had starred in one of his fantasies, and even Gus had popped up in a wet dream or to. The guy walking through the hall whose jeans were sagging just a little too low, or the boy whose shirt was tight enough to expose his hard nipples, whoever happened to catch his eye that day. Kaz didn't put too much thought into it. After he came, it was just a matter of cleaning his hand, and moving onto the next thing. It didn't mean anything.

His dreams about Max. Those meant something. Because when Kaz imagined that lean, muscled body, Kaz's mind didn't rearrange reality just so he could come all over Max's abs. He wanted lingering kisses, arms wrapped their warm bodies, intimacy. Max mattered. And he mattered to dream Max.

Kaz's skin was getting all pruny, so he strolled back into his room, completely naked. He was hard, mostly from thinking about Jeremy, but Kaz didn't let his hand stray between his legs. Now wasn't the time. Not when thoughts of Max and Oliver were looming in the back of his mind.

A black graphic button-down and dark blue jeans, Kaz headed off to Jeremy's house. He didn't tell his parents that he was going to a party. Instead, he said that he was going to do homework with Oliver. And of course they believed him, because where else would Kaz be, if he wasn't with Oliver?

* * *

It was eight o' clock when Oliver settled into the groove of the couch, trying not to sink between the cushions, and create that awful squeaking noise. Skylar wasn't crying anymore, though her eyes were still red and puffy. Even though she insisted that she was fine, Oliver knew that she didn't mean it. And he didn't want her to be alone, so he invited her over to his house to watch DVDs. She seemed fascinated by watching her superhero peers.

"You know Psycochia isn't really that cheerful in real life. We used to go to school together, and whenever one of the guys stole her homework, she locked them in a chamber of shadows until they begged for mercy. Really good dancer, though.

"You're so lucky that you got to go to school with superheroes. The only near-death battle I had was judging Kaz and Gus's 'stink fest.'"

"What's a 'stink fest?'"

"Trust me. You don't want to know." Skylar smiled, and Oliver wondered if it was physically possible to feel his heart rise. Knowing that he was making Skylar feel a little better meant the world to him. "Was that a smile I just saw?"

"I may not have my powers anymore, but I'm not going to let a little setback like this bring me down…but you still have that ice cream in the freezer, right?"

"Yep."

"Good. Because I don't know how you Normos do this emotional drama stuff. I'm gonna have to go to the gym tomorrow now that I don't have villains to take down."

Oliver was about to go to the kitchen to get the ice cream, but Skylar's hand touched his under the covers. They both quickly snatched their hands away, and Oliver's face felt so hot, he thought it would burst.

When Skylar appeared on the DVD in one of her most heroic battles ever, against the Triple Helio Zepiherdon, Oliver found himself looking between the screen and the girl beside him. They were the same person, and this battle hadn't taken place that long ago, but Oliver felt like he was watching two different people.

Skylar Storm: the fearless superhero, the acrobatic fighter who never backed down from a challenge, and inspired courage in everyone she met. Oliver had committed various facts about her to memory from the internet, and bios in the backs of comic books, but what did he really know about Skylar, the person, the girl?

Probably a lot less than he wanted to admit. But the qualities that made her so attractive in the first place weren't diminished. If anything, seeing new sides of Skylar, new vulnerabilities, new dimensions only made Oliver more drawn to her. He wanted to know more about Skylar, _everything_ about her.

"Oliver? I really appreciate you staying with me."

"I would do anything for you, Skylar."

Were they having a moment? Oliver didn't know much about girls, but from the way Skylar was looking at him right now, it felt like the prelude to something, something that had decorated Oliver's dreams for months. Maybe over a year. Had he felt like this about Skylar for that long?

They didn't kiss. But Oliver felt Skylar's hand return to his own, and this time, his nerves didn't guide him to pull away. Their fingers interlaced, they continued watching the DVDs. He felt comfortable, and he couldn't ask for much more than that.

* * *

Kaz arrived at Jeremy's house ten minutes after eight, unsure of the party protocol. But he assumed it was better to show up later, rather than earlier and run the risk of ending up alone with Jeremy, or even worse, with Kyler.

But he could already tell from standing on the porch that the party was in full swing, EDM beats blasting from inside the huge house.

"Hey, Kaz, you made it! I've been waiting!" Kyler said, his face lit up. He was a pink tank top, and white shorts that even passed his dangerously low standards. Kaz suddenly felt overdressed. "Come on in!"

It was even more shocking than discovering Mighty Med for the first time. His peers were grinding on each other in the spacious living room, a couple making out on the couches, in corners against the walls, and one couple was making out on the floor by a window. There were red cups scattered across the floors and tables. People reeked of alcohol. Kaz subconsciously scrunched his nose.

"Not used to the whole party scene?" Kyler asked. "You wanna go to my room? It's a lot quieter?"

Kaz tried to think of a believable excuse, but it was hard to think with the pounding bass and people moaning on the makeshift dance floor. Kyler took his silence as acceptance, and led Kaz up the stairs to his bedroom.

Along the way, Kaz experienced more sights and smells, some less pleasant than others. A group of senior guys were crowded around two girls, who were half-dressed and making out on the floor. They probably weren't even interested in one other. But with a little too much to drink, they were all over each other as if they had just been released from prison and were desperate for any sexual outlet.

Kaz never understood what straight guys' fascination with two girls making out. It didn't seem like two girls kissing could arise such pleasure and excitement, but two boys kissing only signaled the beginning of a beat-down. And why were images of half-naked women plastered across TV commercials, and magazine covers, among other places, but Kaz had to sit in the back corners of stores if he wanted to stare at a shirtless male model. The world felt like a huge double-standard, and he knew it was never going to change anytime soon.

He had been so lost in thought that he only snapped back into reality when Kyler's door closed. The lights were dim. They must have been installed by personal request. That didn't surprise Kaz in the least, but what did shock him was the absence of everything he had expected. There were no shirtless boy band posters, or posters from some musical or stage play.

"You wanna mess around?"

Kyler had asked the question so casually, it was as if he was asking if he wanted something to drink. Well, that put an end to Kaz's uncertainty about Kyler's sexuality.

"That's probably not a good idea…I mean, the party going on downstairs and everything."

"No one will bother us up here," Kyler said. His smile was warm despite the boldness of his question. "And I won't tell anybody anything. I'm really good at keeping secrets."

He would be lying if he said he didn't consider it. Kyler was the first boy whose sexuality aligned with Kaz. He would feel some of the same things, maybe have the same feelings when they kissed, when they touched. And if the rumors were true, Kyler had lots of experience in this field. Kyler was the first sure chance he ever had.

"Or we could make out if you're more comfortable with that."

"Kyler!" Kaz shuddered when he heard that familiar voice. The door was opened, and Jeremy stepped into the room, shirtless and wearing a pair of jeans with holes at the knees. "I told you not to take my pillow."

"Why? You're not using it, and yours is softer than mine."

Jeremy rolled his eyes, and grabbed the pillow from his brother's bed. He looked directly at Kaz, who gulped. That stare was penetrating.

"Kaz, right?"

"Yeah. How do you know who I am?"

"I heard you were the one who got us pizza in the cafeteria that one day because you pretended that you found a hair in that weird soup thing they always serve. Pretty cool."

Kaz resisted the urge to blush and babble like an idiot, but that's what a compliment from the hottest jock in school meant.

"Thanks, Jeremy."

"Come downstairs, I'll get you something to drink. I keep all the good stuff where no one else can get it."

"Hey, Kaz was here with me!" Kyler said, pouting in a way that signaled years of practice.

Jeremy shrugged, and left the room. Kaz watched the older boy's back muscles flex. His skin was teeming with goosebumps. He turned back to Kyler, who was looking back at him with a mixture of annoyance and frustration. But as soon as the anger was on his face, it was gone, replaced with his usual friendly smile.

"It's cool. You can go ahead if you want. You probably came to party anyway. It's pretty crowded down there, but maybe we can hang out later."

"Yeah, sure." Kaz knew his tone sounded just as noncommittal as he felt, but he didn't give it much thought before dashing downstairs.

It took a couple minutes to find Jeremy, pushing past sweaty bodies and awkwardly saying hello to people he vaguely recognized from school. Even though it was only a few minutes until he saw Jeremy in the kitchen, Kaz felt like he had just gone on a trek through an alternate universe, alone.

Jeremy was just as cool as he expected, so cool that the senior was already swept up in a conversation with the rest of his jock buddies and some cheerleaders by the time Kaz reached him. It was clear that they were all a little past getting buzzed, and there was no way Kaz was going to barge in and risk making a fool out of himself.

So, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible, Kaz went into one of the darker corners by a cooler. How had he gone from feeling on Cloud Nine to a total loser in a couple minutes time? He had never felt so awkward in his entire life, a sensation that was only escalating as he picked up pieces up gossip and slurred speech from everyone else. They were talking about people he didn't know, about things that he never thought about.

He was a freshman, a superhero fanboy who took pride in waking up at five in the morning just to get the very first issue of a new Tecton comic. He didn't belong here. So, he called Oliver.

* * *

Oliver was going to kill Kaz. He was starting to get sleepy from the dark room, and he knew Skylar was too, but she hadn't moved her hand away, so neither did he. If it hadn't been for his phone going off, he could have enjoyed the feel of her soft skin for just a little longer.

"What do you want, Kaz? I'm busy."

"I need your advice. I'm at this party and…"

"What? I can barely hear you!"

"I'm at this party and…

"What?!"

This wasn't working. Kaz hung up and texted Oliver instead, his fingers feeling sweaty from nerves.

_Kaz: I'm at a party, and I feel like a complete loser. Help?_

_ Oliver: You went to a party and didn't tell me?! Whose party is it?_

Kaz hesitated to tell the truth, but what was the point of lying? It wasn't like his reputation was going anywhere.

_Kaz: Don't be mad. It's Jeremy's._

No response.

Oliver had heard talk around school about one of Jeremy's legendary parties, but Oliver ignored it, because who wanted to hang around a bunch of drunk people sloppily humping each other and making out like animals? Apparently, Kaz did.

Did loyalty mean nothing to him? Being best friends meant being mad at the same people, even if it was for no reason. How could Kaz go to the party of the guy that had given his best friend a swirlie?

Popularity. It was the only explanation. Kaz was just looking out for Kaz. If his friend was going to be this selfish, Oliver was going to let him deal with his own problems. He had more important things to worry about, like the girl of his dreams sitting on the couch, smiling at him.

* * *

After ten minutes had passed, Kaz knew Oliver wasn't going to text him back. He couldn't entirely blame Oliver, but it sucked that his options were instantly reduced to one. Crawling back to Kyler with his tail between his legs was humiliating, but what other choice did he have?

Kaz worked up a pretty convincing apology on the way up the stairs, but his throat stalled when he pushed open the door and saw Kyler on the floor, his head buried between another boy's legs, Max's legs.

There were so many conflicting sensations that racked Kaz's body, he vaguely began to feel dizzy from sensory overload. He felt like his insides had been tied by the most heavily decorated Boy Scout, and his chest felt tight from his pounding heartbeat, which resonated in his ears and temples. It was as if he could feel every bead of sweat in his body, especially at his crotch, where his cock was straining against the fabric of his underwear.

As nauseating as it felt to watch Kyler sucking Max off, Kaz couldn't help but be turned on. Kyler, who was on all fours, had his butt high in the air and his shorts bunched around his ankles, revealing two smooth, perfectly round globes that Kaz desperately wanted to grope and squeeze. With every movement of Kyler's body, his bubble butt followed, creating an erotic display that had Kaz grabbing his crotch through his pants.

But even more arousing was Max's face, an expression of unadulterated bliss. The Latino boy was completely checked out, oblivious to everything outside of Kyler's mouth. His shirt was still on, hooked around his shoulders so that his bare chest was exposed, and though his body wasn't bulging with muscles, Max had a fantastic build. Kaz wanted to touch it for himself, to feel his hand pressed against Max's chest, to feel his heartbeat and the warmth of the older boy's skin beneath his fingers.

It was obvious to Kaz now. The rumors about Kyler the Cockhound were clearly true, and Max was here for one purpose. Why did someone as indiscriminate as Kyler get all the guys? Was that what it was going to take? Was Kaz going to become a slut just to get a kiss every now and then?

It wasn't any of the "good stuff" Jeremy claimed to have, but Kaz grabbed a cold beer from the cooler downstairs and chugged it. It left a weird taste in his mouth, but as he looked around, he felt the motivation to keep drinking until he was just as free as everyone else around him. These juniors and seniors weren't thinking about what was going into their mouths, and were having the best time, no inhibitions, no heavy thoughts. Clear minds. That was what Kaz wanted, what he needed right now.

Somewhere between his third and fourth drink, Kaz really started feeling the effects of the beer. He started swaying, to the beat of the music at first, and then he repeatedly fell off the rhythm. But people were noticing him, cheering him on. He was just a freshman. How did all of these people know his name? He didn't care. The attention felt good.

And it wasn't just hearing them say his name, it was joining the mass of bodies. Nobody was really dancing with another person in particular. They were just one cluster of sweaty bodies moving together, against each other. A couple guys were grinding against him at one point, and Kaz didn't stop to worry about what people were thinking. They were clearly too far gone, and with some more beer in his cup, he was on his way there too.

It felt good. Kaz had peeled his shirt off, and at one point, he was sharing his red cup with another boy. Their lips briefly touched, before everyone around them burst into laughter. And Kaz was laughing more than anyone else, face hot and heart slamming against his tight chest.

* * *

The tiled floor felt cold against his bare skin, and a putrid stench was filling Kaz's nostrils.

"Ugh, what reeks?"

"Your clothes." Kaz looked up, eyes ultra-sensitive as they re-adjusted to the light. He was in Oliver's bathroom. He could recognize the crack against the ceiling from when he and Oliver tried to make their Tecton action figures fly into the bathtub to save the mermaid princess.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember? I guess puking in the toilet for twenty minutes makes you lose brain cells."

Kaz couldn't have been that out of it, because he caught the bite in Oliver's response without problem. Although, it did take him a little while to realize that he was wearing nothing but his white briefs and white socks. But it was hard to focus on anything for much of too long. This was one monster headache.

Oliver handed him a thermos. "Hot tea for your throat."

His friend barely looked at him before turning around, grabbing the toilet brush to scrub away what Kaz assumed was vomit. In spite of what Oliver might have thought, Kaz still had enough working brain cells to know an apology was necessary now. But even if he had been completely sober, he wouldn't have known what exactly the rights words were.

"Oliver, I—"

"Just go to my bed and lay down. And keep drinking that hot tea. Your throat's probably burning now."

He was right. Was that from the alcohol or from throwing up? Was this what a hangover felt like? It was worse than being kicked in the balls that one time he had lost a dare to Gus a couple years ago. That was a memory he wished would have gotten lost in the daze of last few hours.

Sometimes, Oliver didn't understand why he did these things for Kaz. Telling Skylar to go home because Kaz needed him was hard, really hard, and yet, he ran to Jeremy's house until he could barely speak from being so out of breath, which was probably good, because he clearly hadn't been invited to the party, and couldn't have stuck out more if he had tried. Luckily, most of the people were either passed out, or too absorbed in their cups, or each other's lips, to pay him much attention, and he got Kaz out of there without much fuss. It took a lot longer to get home, Kaz unable to walk in a straight line, and they had to stop in a nearby park so Kaz could take a piss, but Oliver got his friend home before things got any worse.

The vomit, though. It was a germaphobe's worst nightmare, and he had to take intermittent breaks so that he wouldn't throw up from the smell.

But as he listen to the vomit-muddy toilet water flush, Oliver remembered that Kaz never asked him to do any of this. It was just the way their relationship worked. They didn't need words, and maybe that was why Oliver couldn't tell Kaz when he felt like this, like he was being a babysitter.

Maybe, because as dumb as it sounded, Oliver liked looking after Kaz a little, being the responsible one that Kaz leaned on for support. Kaz opened up to him in a way that no one else in the world did. It felt good to know that Kaz needed him.

But not when he was completely wasted. Oliver had to draw the line somewhere.

That didn't stop him from letting Kaz sleep in his bed, only after he brushed his teeth, and he watched his best friend do it to make sure every tooth was bathed in toothpaste. There was no way that he was waking up to even worse morning breath than Kaz already had.

Kaz woke up at four in the morning, groaning as the pulsing in his temples reached his senses again. He wasn't going to school tomorrow. He had already called his mom and complained about a bad stomachache. Just hearing his voice dripping with exhaustion, and a testimony from Oliver, had her permission to stay the night at Oliver's. Why had he done this to Oliver? Who else would put up with this much of him?

"Oliver," he whispered. He shook his friend, rocking the brown-haired boy's body a little harder than he had intended. "Oliver, wake up."

"What?" Oliver whined. Kaz couldn't help but smile. Oliver definitely wasn't a morning person, and it was still the middle of the night.

"I'm sorry about tonight. I messed up."

"Yeah, you did. In more ways than one."

"I just needed something to help me forget about Max, which didn't work by the way because I saw him getting sucked off at the party."

"Really? By who?"

"Umm…I don't remember." Of course Kaz remembered. The image of Kyler blowing Max was seared into his brain, but he didn't want to put Kyler's business out there like that. It would probably end up in some rumor soon, anyway. "I just didn't know how to deal with it."

"I get it."

The truth was, Oliver didn't get it, not fully anyway. But that was okay. Kaz didn't expect him too. He knew that Oliver wanted to though, and that was more than enough for him.

He crawled on top of Oliver, straddling his friend, who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Kaz, what are you doing?"

After a minute of studying Oliver's face, his messy hair, those eyes that couldn't just be called "blue," but Kaz didn't know the right word for, he was sure. "I really want to kiss you. Can I?"

He wasn't really waiting for an answer, and didn't know if he was really capable of processing that much right now, anyway. Kaz leaned down and pressed his lips against Oliver's.

Once he felt that Oliver wasn't kissing him back, Kaz pulled away. "I brushed my teeth, so it's okay."

Kaz kissed Oliver again, and again, each time letting his lips linger a little longer than the last time. He lost count, but somewhere around the tenth kiss, he felt Oliver's lips open to meet his own. And his friend's arms wrapped around his back, holding him as if even the smallest space between them needed be filled.

Slow, tender kisses quickly escalated into wet, messy, desperate ones. All the while, Kaz was rocking his hips against Oliver's crotch, his head swimming with desire. The walls of his inhibitions were still crumbled, as Kaz lifted Oliver's shirt to plant a trail of kisses down his best friend's skinny frame. He listened to the way Oliver sighed and his muscles tensed slightly. And while he swirled his tongue around Oliver's navel, Kaz pulled down Oliver's pajama pants and underwear, which earned him a light kick in the face.

"We've never done that before," Oliver said. He didn't sound angry. There was a tone of curiosity, and maybe fear. Kaz couldn't be sure. He didn't have the time, nor the focus to fully analyze right now.

"I know. But I want to. And you don't have to do it to me. Just let me do this, okay?" He could see the hesitation in Oliver's eyes. "You can close your eyes if you want to, pretend it's Skylar."

The bug-eyed expression on Oliver's face was almost comical, but once Kaz began nuzzling Oliver's dick with his face, his friend sunk against the bed, and his body relaxed.

Kaz had never been so close to Oliver's dick before, and even in the dark of the room, he could tell it was a beauty. A little over four inches, circumcised, and a thin shaft that seemed to perfectly match Oliver's build, his dick had Kaz even more excited.

He lacked experience, and didn't seem to have any natural skill when he took Oliver into his mouth, but Oliver's body didn't seem to mind. His throat was still sensitive from throwing up –he had come to the conclusion that puking for as long as Oliver had said must have been the culprit – so he couldn't take very much of the shaft, but focused his attention on the flared head, making long, sloppy licks until he forced pre-cum to come gushing from the slit.

He slid his tongue down to Oliver's balls, sucking on the round orbs harshly, which had Oliver fighting back a cacophony of moans. It was almost like a game, Kaz trying to make Oliver cry out. He couldn't help but smile when Oliver whispered "Stop it. You're doing that on purpose."

Sucking Oliver's dick got a little bit easier as the minutes went on, especially when Oliver started mumbling something too incoherent for Kaz to understand. He wasn't sure, but he was pretty sure that Oliver was being quiet on purpose, and not just so he wouldn't wake up the rest of the house.

Kaz had his hand buried in his pants the whole time, and came before Oliver did. He tried to stop himself, but Oliver accidentally thrust upward into his mouth, shoving most of his dick down his throat. And even though his throat did burn from the sudden intrusion, knowing that he was responsible for making Oliver lose control like that was too much for him. He squeezed his dick and moaned around Oliver's as he rode out his orgasm.

His throat hurt too much. But he let Oliver come all over his face, which he could tell Oliver was reluctant about. Still, it was hard to argue when you were just a few quick strokes away from release.

Oliver cleaned Kaz's face with some tissues by the bed, and they slipped underneath the covers again.

"Oliver?" Kaz whispered. "Next time, you can come in my mouth, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

**It was a lot, but hopefully a lot to enjoy!**

** Be sure to let me know what you think. It's kind of hard to keep characters OC when dealing with a world so unlike the one presented on the show, but I'm doing my best!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me with this fic! You have no idea how much it means to see so many reviews / PMs about this story. Knowing that you all are interested drives me to keep thinking, and writing new chapters for you all to enjoy!**

** So I present the third chapter of Smokescreen! **

** The aftermath of last night's party come in, and Kyler…well, you'll have to read to find out what part he plays in this chapter. I'm really glad people like his character, since he wasn't originally part of the story!**

** Anyway, I won't keep you any longer! Please enjoy this third chapter, and be sure to tell me what you think!**

* * *

The second Kaz dropped his controller, Oliver grabbed the trash can and brought it to his best friend's face. Dry heaves. Nothing projectile this time, which was a little reassuring, but it was the fourth time since they started playing _Volperion's Tales_. Flashing lights probably weren't very conducive to a hangover.

"I can't even play video games," Kaz said with a groan. "And if this headache doesn't go away in the next ten minutes, I'm going to saw it off."

"You don't know how to use a saw. You can't even hold chopsticks."

Kaz stuck his tongue out and tried to stand up, his legs shaking from the sudden rush of blood to his head. Oliver was up in an instant, holding Kaz to keep him steady.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Kaz said. "I'm not a baby."

"Of course not. Last time I checked, babies didn't get so wasted that they're puking their guts out. And correct me if I'm wrong, but your mom thinks you have food poisoning because I covered for you last night. So sorry for trying to be a friend and make sure you're all right."

Oliver pushed Kaz onto his bed and stormed out of his room. Kaz was floored. He had never seen Oliver blow up at him like that. They had arguments over the stupidest things, including whose Tecton action figure had the most realistic looking nose, and the occasional screaming match led into the silent treatment. But this felt different. There was something in Oliver's tone, something in his expression that made Kaz sure something was wrong.

But how could he be expected to analyze Oliver's reaction when his head was pounding, and he could barely remember what had happened last night.

Kyler blowing Max. That was an image to be tattooed so deep in his mind that the ink sunk between the crevices of pink fleshy membrane. Everything about that scene was on loop, the mixture of embarrassment and ecstasy on Max's face unrelenting as the most vivid picture. He wished he could put his brain through the washing machine and let it soak, ridding him of this headache and that image of Max.

It was everything after that moment that started to blur together into a gray mess. Kaz remembered that first beer, how his throat tightened and he coughed a little of it up at first because he wasn't used to it. But with a steady stream of cold frothy beer pouring into his system, he started to relax, and his worries faded into some empty corner of his mind.

And the cheering. _Go Kaz! Dude, look at those moves!_ Kaz had never been praised so enthusiastically, and to be the center of attention from a group of upperclassmen stroked his ego even more than Kyler had probably stroked Max upstairs. He remembered feeling alive.

The rest of the party remained fuzzy, memories dissolving into a cloud of smoke that only opened up to reveal Oliver's dick above his face, thick globs of cum shooting from the slit and coating his face. Had he and Oliver messed around again? Had he said something inappropriate or done something that made Oliver uncomfortable? He still wasn't sure what was going on, but he felt guilty. Oliver wouldn't be upset with him for no reason.

A quick look around the room has Kaz wondering if a tornado came through because it wasn't like Oliver not to have everything in its perfect place. His dad was pretty insistent about cleanliness, a virtue that was often looked past at Kaz's house. Any house with ten siblings would operate the same way.

The bottom of the trash can was crusty with dry puke, and there were dark stains on the carpet. Oliver's room reeked.

"Bath's ready."

Kaz turned around and saw Oliver walk into the room, heavy bags under his eyes that made Kaz want to shrink down until he was microscopic. When Oliver pulled off his bed sheets, and began folding them, Kaz stopped him.

"Let me do that."

"You don't know how." It was off-putting to hear such anger in Oliver's voice, but Kaz fought back the urge to make a snappy comeback, which definitely was no easy task.

"I'll figure it out. Please?"

Even without a mirror, Kaz knew he must have looked like a wreck, but his puppy-dog eyes didn't seem to be affected by the hangover, because Oliver relented, and sat on the bed.

Kaz reached down and looked over the blanket, trying to find which side was longer. Did it really matter? Wait, Oliver liked having this blanket on top, which meant he should save it for last. And wasn't there a bedspread? Suddenly realizing that he usually had to be dragged out of bed, only to find it perfectly made after coming home made Kaz want to give his mom a big hug for sparing him. If that wasn't totally against everything a teenage boy stood for, he might have followed through on that desire.

Oliver sighed and took the other end of the blanket, which allowed Kaz to see the right way to fold it. When their hands met, Oliver smiled, and Kaz was pretty sure his heartbeat slowed down a little from its frantic racing.

"Sorry." Kaz knew there must have been a lot of stuff to apologize for that he didn't even remember, but he decided to keep it simple. It was hard enough just getting that one word out.

"Go take your bath before the water gets cold. You stink."

Kaz started to walk to the bathroom, but stopped at the doorframe and looked back at Oliver. "Come with me?"

* * *

Oliver wasn't sure why he suddenly felt so shy. He had been naked in front of Kaz plenty of times, but after last night, seeing his best friend's naked figure had him feeling a little embarrassed, and really guilty.

Why had he let Kaz do those things to him last night? It wasn't that it didn't feel good. That was never the issue. But Kaz had been wasted, and clearly hurt over whatever had happened with Max. Oliver felt like he had taken advantage of Kaz. He let Kaz take the easy way out, sucking him off to make himself feel better. The whole night had just been another exercise in Kaz's selfishness rearing its ugly head, and Oliver always seemed to be in that beast's path.

On the way back from Jeremy's house, after Kaz had pissed on a bed of flowers in the park, he had suddenly decided that his shoes were too tight, and threw them in a fountain. After fishing them out, Oliver had carried Kaz on his back the rest of the way to his house, which was no easy task with a best friend blowing against the back of his ear, and mumbling random things about the party: _"Cindy doesn't dye her hair. She swears it's naturally blond." "Jarred does a mean Drunk Elvis impression."_

As annoyed as Oliver had been that Kaz had interrupted his evening with Skylar, and that his best friend went to a party thrown by the biggest jerk in school, he couldn't help but be a little jealous. He didn't even know who some of these people were, and yet Kaz was going on and on about these upperclassmen as if they were his new best friends. Even if it was just for one night, and most of it had been spent in a drunken stupor, Kaz got to be part of the cool crowd.

What if Oliver decided to be a little selfish?

He was snapped back into reality when he felt something pressing against his face: Kaz's foot.

"Geez. You were spacing out so much, I thought you would float away."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about Skylar."

That was just it. He hadn't thought about Skylar last night when Kaz coaxed him into receiving the blowjob. No amount of mind-twisting could take away the image of Kaz between his legs, hand buried in his briefs to fist his own cock. He hadn't been able to help himself, opening his eyes every so often just to confirm the signals his body was sending to his brain.

He felt trapped by the whole situation, and to make things worse, he had accepted Kaz's offer for "next time." Their lingering touches, and kisses that melted together just seemed to happen, but maybe that was because Oliver wasn't being careful enough.

If this kept happening, things were going to get even weirder between them. People drifted apart after high school.

It wasn't something Oliver liked to think about, because he was still just a freshman, and he and Kaz had been friends since they were infants, so as far as he was concerned, they would always be a part of each other's lives. But the reality of it was that with a little distance, even the closest friends slowly begin to phase out. And what if every kiss that they shared added to this unnamed emotion that was blooming between them, something threatening to hijack what should have been a purely platonic friendship. Not just a friendship, something closer to family. Kaz was like the brother he never had.

He made up his mind. For both of their sakes, these unspoken "benefits" had to stop.

They spent the rest of the bath in silence, Oliver washing Kaz's hair, and back. He wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't think of anything that felt right. Since when did they he have to plan what he was going to say? And why wasn't Kaz blurting out the first thing that came to mind?

Maybe they had started drifting apart without Oliver even realizing it.

* * *

Heavy rain cascaded across their umbrellas as Kaz and Oliver walked through town. Even though it was the middle of the day, the streets were nearly empty, except for the occasional car that cruised by, headlights sparkling in the dark.

The insides of Oliver's shoes were already soaked, which made his socks squish with every step. He liked everything about rain: the way it looked trailing down the clear glass of the windows in his house, the fresh smell when he ran across the grass in his backyard to go to his treehouse, and most of all, the sound. It was relaxing. It reminded him of coming home after school and spending the whole day with Kaz, reading comic books, and snuggled under warm blankets straight out the dryer.

Everything seemed a lot simpler before girls and boys got into the equation.

A sudden flash of wind had Kaz's umbrella flying from his hand, riding through the air like it was being led into a vigorous dance. Oliver was positive that he would never forget the look on Kaz's face at that moment: vulnerable, and a little embarrassed. Kaz looked cute. And Oliver knew he would get a punch in the arm if he said it out loud.

Kaz inched his way under the umbrella, and Oliver smiled. He couldn't not take the opportunity.

"If this was a comic book, you'd be falling for me right about now, the chivalrous handsome friend who offers his umbrella."

"One, I don't even know what 'chivalrous' means, and two, you're crazy if you think I'm going to let some rain ruin what is turning out to be a _really_ good hair day." Oliver rolled his eyes, and Kaz took the umbrella from his hand, holding it over both of them. "Besides, I'm taller, so I should be holding the umbrella. Try not to fall in love with me, okay."

When Kaz winked, Oliver elbowed him in the side. Just like that, his fears about losing their way together faded into the depths of the shadows of the trees along the streets. He didn't have a thing to worry about. They were best friends, and nothing was ever going to change that.

They stopped in front of the old playground by the park, and Kaz rushed to the swing. He stood up on the wet black rubber, and grabbed the silver chains, slowly propelling himself forward and back, just like he used to when he was a kid. So much for preserving a good hair day. His face was getting soaked, but he looked happy, like the traces of a hangover had melted off his face.

Oliver was content with watching, but it was when Kaz started stripping off his clothes, that Oliver felt that familiar uncomfortable sudden racing of his heartbeat.

"Kaz, what are you doing? People are going to see you!"

"Who would be crazy enough to go out in this rain?" Oliver decided not to answer the obvious. "Come on, it's fun!"

No way. He could catch hypothermia and die. Okay, maybe that was a bit excessive. But, he would definitely catch a cold, and be trapped in bed, struggling to sleep from pounding headaches and a clogged nose. Oliver hated being sick. It made him stir-crazy when he didn't even have the strength or the focus to read a comic book.

Then why was he stowing his umbrella under the jungle gym and peeling off his clothes until he was bare naked. And maybe someone would come by, and yet Oliver didn't really care. Everything and everyone outside this playground ceased to exist in his mind. There was only Kaz, naked from head to toe, and taking his hand.

They rode the plastic horses, performed tricks on the monkey bars, and Oliver couldn't remember the last time he experienced something as thrilling as going down a slide naked. Kaz right behind him, arms wrapped around his front, and their naked bodies together, Oliver felt completely comfortable. He was laughing so hard that his face was starting to hurt, and when Kaz bent over to climb to the top of the jungle gym, Oliver gave his best friend a firm slap on the butt.

Kaz turned around and said "The first one's free, but that's all you get, perv."

Oliver was caught off guard when Kaz squeezed his butt while he was hanging upside down on the monkey bars. But he just laughed it off when Kaz faked an inappropriate moan while doing an obscene gesture with his dick.

They took refuge under the jungle gym, their legs stretched out, Kaz's left foot on top of Oliver's right. Neither one of them had put their clothes back on, but Kaz fished his phone out from his jeans pocket when he heard it vibrate.

_Kyler: Hey, I missed you in Home Ec today. Hangovers suck, huh? We got this new assignment today, so you wanna come over to my place and work on it, partner? ;)_

Kaz wished he could stay like this forever, away from the rest of the world, away from stupid boy problems, here with Oliver. But he knew he would get an earful from his parents if he wasn't on top of his schoolwork, especially in Home Ec, a class he was actually managing a pretty good grade in. Without the one shining proof to reassure his parents that he wasn't going to flunk his freshman year, Kaz knew he was in for one heck of a grounding.

But Kyler? How could he face him after what had happened yesterday? Kaz sighed and rested his head on Oliver's shoulder, letting his eyes fall shut. He wasn't going to think about now. He still had a couple hours, and needed to make the most of this temporary escape from reality.

* * *

The house looked a lot different without sweaty bodies huddled together, undulating to heavy electronic beats and empty red plastic cups littered across the beer-stained carpet. There was no trace of last night's wild events. Kaz was impressed.

But when Kyler answered the door in what appeared to be nothing but an oversized football jersey, Kaz wished lightning would strike him dead. What if someone saw him and got the wrong idea? What if Kyler was getting the wrong idea from him standing here and not saying anything? Because he couldn't stop his eyes from traveling up Kyler's smooth hairless legs until his curiosity tried to fill in whether or not the brown-haired boy was wearing underwear. Kaz decided to hurry up and walk into the house before things got even more awkward.

"First hangovers are always the worst," Kyler said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I just had a big test today that I didn't study for, so I skipped school."

"Too bad. Everything was talking about how cool you were."

Kaz's face lit up like he had just been told he had won a lifetime supply of Tecton comic books and gods."

"Really?"

"Yep. In the hallways, all I heard was how good a dancer you are, and what good impressions you do. Logan High School's new celebrity."

Kaz would have gladly spent the majority of his day throwing up in the boys' bathroom if he had been able to experience the celebrity status for himself. Now he had to worry if he would be able to hear it at all. High school was notorious for things fading in and out of popularity in the blink of an eye. Still, he was elated to know that he had taken his first step to being noticed by the upperclassmen.

When he looked over and saw Kyler smiling at him, Kaz felt nervous. Why was Kaz so interested in him? It was freaking him out.

"So what's this assignment for Home Ec?"

The only reason Kaz had signed up for Home Ec was because he thought he woud spend the entire semester eating tasty deserts. After begging Oliver to sign up with him, his best friend ended up ditching him to take Art instead. Now Kaz was the only boy in the class, the only other than Kyler anyway. He tried acting as nonchalant about the whole thing, serving as a more masculine counterpart to Kyler, but he felt like a jerk for doing so. Maybe he was trying to avoid this whole feminine stereotype thing, but wouldn't any teenage guy? This was survival of the fittest. He wasn't like Kyler, not at all.

"We have to make a dish from a foreign country and present it to the class next week. I was thinking of something sweet. What do you think?"

The way Kyler licked his fingers when he stood up had Kaz pulling his pullover a little lower to cover his crotch. Kyler wasn't anywhere near his type, but he had never had a guy flirt with him, especially one who was so forward. And that's what this was, right? Flirting?

Kaz followed Kyler into the kitchen, where there were various sweets laid out across the counter. He was dying to taste every drop until his body was flowing with so much sugar that his dentist would be kissing his feet for the impossibly long bill.

Kyler hopped up on the counter and began swinging his feet back and forth, pulling a lollipop into his mouth. Why was Kaz's heart beating so fast? He couldn't be sure but he definitely felt like he was on the brink of breaking into a sweat.

"I really want to kiss you right now."

There was never a more honest confession, and although Kaz's mind was telling him this was a far too risky to even consider, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. Kyler had given him the same offer last night, but Jeremy had come to his rescue, interrupting before he had a chance to answer.

He hadn't even kissed Oliver. Or had he? Kaz was pretty sure he had kissed someone yesterday, but he couldn't quite remember. Regardless, it would have been unfair if the only kisses his lips received were when they were wet with alcohol, and his brain was in a beer-soaked daze. He wanted to remember everything about the kiss, the warmth of the embrace, the intimacy of being with another guy. So when Kyler hopped off the counter and pressed him against the refrigerator, Kaz closed his eyes and let his body slide against Kyler's as their lips melted together.

Kaz didn't feel the Earth move, or fireworks suddenly cloud his mind, or any of the cinematic effects he had seen on TV and in movies, but it was comfortable. He tasted the strawberry flavor of the lollipop on Kyler's lips as their kiss lingered, pulling away for just a moment before closing the distance again. It was like their lips were connected by magnets, drawn together by an electric current that ran through their bodies.

Unsure of what he was doing, Kaz parted his lips and allowed Kyler to take the lead, clutching the boy's football jersey when their tongues pressed together. It was wild, wet, and hot enough for his brain to start short-circuiting.

Although it was a little overwhelming at first, Kaz was determined not to remain submissive for the duration of their lip-lock, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head when his tongue slipped into Kyler's mouth. _Kyler's sucking on my tongue_. By then, Kaz was completely aroused, and once Kyler started rocking their bodies together, he could feel that Kyler was even more turned on.

His curiosity was satiated when his hands found Kyler's butt, confirming that Kyler was indeed wearing underwear: a pair of tight briefs that hugged his melon-shaped cheeks like a second skin. There was whispered hushes of Kyler's "bubble butt" through the hallways and in the boys' bathroom, including a crude drawing in the furthermost stall that had two gargantuan butt cheeks spread wide, and cum gushing from to puckered hole. In black ink, there was an arrow pointing to the stretched entrance, which read "$10 for the ride of your life with Kyler." Kaz wondered if the rumors were true, if Kyler knew that there was such graphic images of him in the boys' bathroom for everyone to see.

With his hands full of those big butt cheeks, Kaz couldn't deny that Kyler really did have a bubble butt. He was pretty sure Kyler had guided his hands down there in the first place, but Kaz was positive that they were staying there of his own free will.

Thirty minutes. They had been making out for thirty minutes, and were lying on the kitchen floor, Kaz on top of Kyler, who had his legs wrapped around the black-haired boy's back. By the time they pulled away, Kaz was in desperate need of chapstick.

Their foreheads were pressed together, hot breaths meeting between their faces.

"You're a really good kisser," Kyler said with a smile that made Kaz want to pull his hood over his head. Did Kyler really have to be this cute?

"You too."

"It feels good, doesn't it? Kissing? It's my favorite thing to do, believe it or not."

Kaz didn't. If the rumors were true, then Kyler was experienced in a lot more than kissing. The brown-haired boy looked like he knew have to give a professional blowjob if Max's face was any indication. Did Max ever get the same attention reciprocated? Kaz couldn't imagine a lot of guys in Logan High School willing to suck dick, especially for someone as gay as Kyler. That would be the kiss of death to their masculinity.

_As gay as Kyler?_ Were there really levels of gay? Where did Kaz fall on this list, and who was keeping track?

"It's a lot less messy and easier on the knees than sucking guys off in the boys' bathroom," Kyler said with a smile.

How could he not be embarrassed by saying that? Admitting that there was in fact some truth to what everybody talked about both grossed Kaz out, and impressed him. Jeremy was a senior, and would be gone when summer rolled around, so once they entered sophomore year, there was no reason for anyone to hold their tongue, or their fists about Kyler. Kaz shivered a little when he imagined the torture that was just building, and building, even in this very moment.

"Aren't you scared?" Kaz said. "That something's gonna happen to you? Guys at our school don't really like guys like us."

Crap. Did he really just say "us?" Kaz replayed the line over, and the horror that spread across his face must have been obvious. He had just outed himself to Kyler. He shut his eyes tight in the hopes that this was all some crazy hallucination from last night, and that at any moment, he would wake up in Oliver's bed, temples pounding and stomach tied in enough knots to keep an entire Boy Scout troop busy.

He only opened his eyes when he felt Kyler stroke his hair.

"Like I said last night, I'm good at keeping secrets."

"Thank you."

"My lips are sealed. I…"

Kaz wrapped his arms around Kyler and hugged him tight. His eyes were shut again, this time to stop from crying. It was humiliating, a teenage boy on the edge of crying like a baby, but with Kyler stroking his back, Kaz basked in the silence of the kitchen, save for their heavy breathing. Even though Kyler promised to keep his secret, he was scared. But this was where he felt safest, like Kyler had access to a part of him that no one else did, not even Oliver.

* * *

Oliver stood outside school, waiting for Skylar to come out. He had tried texting her, but there was no answer. He had to admit that he was a little taken aback when he saw that he had read the text and hadn't responded, but there was no reason for him to worry, right? She was probably busy during classes. It was a logical explanation.

So why couldn't Oliver shake the feeling that something was wrong?

His heart was simultaneously in fight from excitement at seeing Skylar's face, and plummeting when he saw Stefanie laughing next to her. Since when were they friends?

"Skylar!" He waved his hand, and he acknowledged his presence when their eyes met, but where was her excitement to see him? He had to know what was going on.

He ran over just in time to hear Stefanie whisper something about "that weird brown-haired guy," before greeting him with a cheery smile. Could she be any faker?

"Hey, Skylar. I texted you earlier but maybe you didn't have time to text me back?" Oliver felt like his palms were starting to get sweaty, and his throat suddenly felt far too dry for comfort. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. Maybe help catch me up on what I missed today"

"Actually, I'm hanging out with Stefanie."

Oliver looked over to see the blond girl applying what must have been the fifth coat of eye make-up. "Oh. Then could I come with you guys? I don't have any plans."

"Shocker," Stefanie said with a snicker. Oliver rolled his eyes.

"We're going to have a girls' night. So no boys." There was enough venom in that last sentence to out-poison a legion of snakes.

Oliver gently pulled her away from Stefanie, who looked way too absorbed in her compact mirror to notice anything other than herself.

"Did I do something wrong? Because whatever I did, I'm really sorry. I would never make you upset on purpose."

"That's just it. Oliver, since I left my home planet and came to Mighty Med, you've been my closest friend. I love hanging out with you, and last night was…I can't even explain it, but I liked it."

"I liked it too," Oliver said with what he assumed was the goofiest smile ever.

"But last night also made me realize something. I'll always be second best to Kaz in your eyes. Don't get me wrong. I think it's totally cool how close you guys are. To be honest, I'm a little jealous. I wish I had someone who would do anything for me, so that's why I'm trying to make new friends, girlfriends. I figure without all that…you know…it'll be easier."

Oliver was stunned, like the wind had been knocked out of him and his heart was about to shrink into an empty balloon.

"We'll still be friends, though. That'll never change. Just…I need a little space, okay?"

At some point, Oliver dropped his umbrella, but he didn't care. He couldn't do anything but stand there and watch Skylar walk away with Stefanie. How could it be all over before it started? He was really glad that rain was pouring so hard. It would be a lot harder to tell that he was crying.

* * *

He wasn't sure how he ended up at the school gym. It had always been a place Oliver avoided as much as possible so he wouldn't give away his lack of physical prowess. But he needed something to distract himself, something to ease his anger.

This was Kaz's fault. He tried to be rational about it, but no matter which way his mind led him, it always ended up in the same conclusion: he put Kaz before himself, before Skylar, and that cost him the chance at getting his dream girl. And the more he thought about it, the more unsure he was that Kaz would do the same for him, which only made him angrier.

Trying not to become a seething mess, Oliver planted himself under a barbell, ignoring how much weight was packed on before gripping it tightly. "Heavy" was an understatement, but he wasn't going to let anything to stop him.

But reality had different plans. He managed to slip the barbell off the resting position, but it came ramming down against his chest, the pain so intense that his toes curled and he let out a gasp of air. Maybe the pressure would be so strong that he could pass out, and forget all of this. His vision was starting to go. He could black out any second. Oliver wanted to surrender.

The weight vanished, and his senses slowly came back to him. When he looked up, he saw Jeremy, shirtless and muscles glistening with sweat.

"Stick to the two-pounders, small-fry."

Everyone around him was laughing. Oliver really wished he could just pass out. He ran to the locker room and punched a locker. The pain was back, and the throbbing sensation seemed to agitate the pounding in his head. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes. Kaz was ruining his life and didn't even know it.

* * *

**An emotional rollercoaster, especially for Oliver.**

**How are things going to change for him and Oliver? We'll start seeing that next chapter, along with more Max.**

**See you all soon! **


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm excited to present another chapter of this story, though I must warn you that things get emotional. We have another party, and the guys don't exactly have the best track record with those. What happens this time? You'll have to keep reading to find out.**

** We have some more Max (finally!) in this chapter, as well as some more Jeremy and Kyler. **

** I guess there's nothing left to say in the intro, so read on and enjoy!**

* * *

"For when your lips get dry," Kyler said. "It's vanilla, so it's not too strong."

Kaz blushed hard enough for his cheeks to hurt when Kyler spread the chapstick on his lips, because his lips were dry from making out for the past twenty minutes. He still wasn't fully sure how he found himself in Kyler's room on a Saturday morning. Normally, he would have been listening to Oliver beg him to get out of bed so they could do something. After a bunch of back and forth, they would settle on playing video games, or reading comic books at The Domain. But Oliver was being strangely distant lately.

Instead of hanging out in the hallways in between classes, Oliver always had somewhere to go, and could barely look him in the eye when Kaz called out to him. Yesterday, Oliver went straight home after school because he claimed his dad had chores for him to do, but he hadn't answered any of Kaz's texts, which he sent way after dinner. It didn't make sense to Kaz, especially because he couldn't think of anything he could have done to make Oliver angry with him. He may have been a little insensitive, but if he knew what he had done, Kaz would have apologized to Oliver in a second.

Kyler's bed was comfy, the mattress even softer than his own. Kaz closed his eyes, tempted to drift off into his dreams right here, but a knock on the door snapped him out of his reverie.

"Hey, Kaz." Kaz jolted up as fast as he could. Any faster and he would have given himself whiplash. Jeremy was standing at Kyler's door, wearing a white button-down shirt, black slacks, and a dark blue tie. It was a far cry from his usual look at school, but Kaz liked this look too. Then again, Jeremy could have worn a paper bag and made it hot. "Hurry up, bro. We gotta be at Pearl's Bistro in twenty minutes."

"I can't believe you're making me go to this stupid brunch. He won't even care if I'm there."

"Just get dressed. I'm dragging you out of this room in ten minutes, ready or not." Jeremy turned to Kaz. "You want a soda, Kaz, while Kyler changes? I just a six pack from the store."

Kaz didn't know if Jeremy meant a six pack of beer, or soda, but the question was irrelevant, because his answer was a resounding yes. Of course, he never got the chance to respond, because Kyler interrupted.

"He's staying with me."

Jeremy rolled his eyes, and threatened Kyler with another reminder of time, before heading downstairs.

It was always awkward when Jeremy was around the house. Kaz didn't know what the older boy was thinking, or what Kyler had told him. The senior was always really nice to him, but was that because Kyler was getting the wrong idea about their relationship? To be honest, Kaz didn't know what to call Kyler.

They weren't exactly friends. Kyler was pretty funny sometimes, though his overly flirtatious manner could be a bit annoying. What did you call someone who you kind of liked to make out with, but only when it was spontaneous? And maybe a bit of groping was okay, because Kyler couldn't keep his hands to himself, and Kaz didn't exactly mind, or stop him, so he had to be okay with it to some degree. But it wasn't like he proactively asked Kyler to kiss, and they didn't hang out anywhere other than Kyler's house, which was a pretty clear sign that they hadn't crossed the line into friend territory. It was all too complicated. It made Kaz's head hurt.

The one thing he did know was that he really had to stop this whole making out thing. It was really becoming risky, though the benefits of Kyler being really good at it, and getting to talk to Jeremy once in a while, were undeniable.

"Do you want to go to a party tonight?" Kaz snapped out of his reverie to see Kyler standing in front of his full length mirror, pulling his pants down to reveal that bubble butt covered by the thin fabric of his briefs. That timing had definitely been purposeful. "It'll be really fun."

After what happened the last party, Kaz was more than a little apprehensive. The whole hangover thing wasn't fun. And even though nobody would be forcing him to drink, would he really have any fun without at least a little buzz? Being in a room full of people he didn't know had been stressful, especially when they were all having fun and downing cup after cup. What was he supposed to have done? Be the sober loser sitting on the sidelines? He doubted this party would be much different.

Then again, his popularity had taken a sharp turn upwards after that night. And once he went back to school, people were still talking about his hilarious impressions, begging him to do them again. He didn't remember any of this, but pulled out a weird voice and face on the spot and everyone howled with laughter.

With Oliver avoiding him like the plague, Kaz sat with Gus, and Jordan. Skylar was hanging out with Stefanie a lot recently, which he thought was weird, but didn't question it. But two days ago was when everything made a concrete change. He ate lunch with the football team. They were joking about stuff he didn't understand, but he managed to get laughs out of them, and they put their hands on his shoulders, and called him "Kaz-zinger." Kaz thought it was pretty clever.

Another party, another soar of popularity. He couldn't argue with those pros.

"Yeah, okay."

"Cool. It's at Trent Ross's house. He's having one of his White Parties."

Kaz wasn't sure he had ever seen so much fabric on Kyler's body at one time. No bare skin of his arms or legs, or even stomach on occasion, was exposed. He cleaned up pretty nicely.

Just as Kyler was starting to explain the concept of a white party, Jeremy pushed the door open again, clearly fed up with waiting. Kyler whined about not wanting to go, and Jeremy ignored him, helping his brother put on his tie.

"I hate this tie. It's too red."

"So is your face every time you're with Kaz."

"Shut up!" It was Kaz's turn to redden, his cheeks burning in humiliation. So Jeremy really did think there was something going on with him and Kyler. "I told you we're just friends."

And there it was. Kyler, and by extension, Jeremy, was getting the wrong idea. Kaz had to do something before things got any worse. But as he watched Kyler and Jeremy go back and forth about some stupid girl Jeremy had been dating, and seeing them laugh about it, he decided to keep his mouth shut. Kyler was clearly dreading wherever Jeremy was dragging him off to, but when Kyler's face was lit up with laughter like this, Kaz couldn't bring himself to sour the mood. He could wait. Maybe until after the "white party," whatever that was.

* * *

Music blasting in his ears, and his heart pounding loud against his chest, Oliver zoned everything and everyone else out as he completed his first mile. He had been coming to the gym every day after school, aiming to at least run one mile, but exhaustion always got the better of him. Each time he stepped off that treadmill, he felt like a loser, like he couldn't hold a candle to any of these guys, and he should just give up. But he didn't.

He thought about Skylar, about Kaz, and Jeremy, all of those voices in his head that fueled his anger, and channeled his frustrations into exercise, stuffing all of his books in his bag and rushing out of school before Kaz had a chance to slow him down. Instead of eating lunch with his usual group, he brought his own lunch from home and ate in the corner of the library, which wasn't allowed, but Oliver had a good relationship with the head librarian, so she let it slide. He felt bad for ignoring Gus and Jordan in the process, but yesterday he walked past the cafeteria and saw Kaz eating with the football players. Mr. Popularity looked like he had everything going for him. Oliver wasn't interested.

He couldn't eat after seeing Kaz laughing it up with the same guys who made it their mission to humiliate someone at some point during the day. Was Kaz forgetting these were the same guys that made pushed Gus into that tray of chocolate pudding? Granted, Gus loved chocolate pudding, and said it felt like the world's best bath, but that wasn't the point. It was about loyalty, something which Kaz clearly didn't know anything about.

He slowed his pace for his cool down, and took a gulp of water. By the time he stepped off the machine, his muscles were sore and he was nearly ready to collapse, but he had never felt so accomplished. He dunked his head with water, sighing as it dripped down his shirt on both sides.

"Nice run, man." Oliver turned around and saw Trent Ross, senior on the basketball team, and extremely popular. He wasn't the kind of guy to acknowledge someone like Oliver. "You've been at it for the past couple days, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." Oliver tried to take his mom's advice, to project confidence, but his voice came out way too softly for that. And was it lame that he was actually listening to his mom about high school stuff?

"First mile, right? That's huge! You should be proud!"

"Thanks…I'm Oliver."

"I know. I've seen you around school. I'm Trent Ross."

This guy was getting it backwards! Trent was the one everyone knew, the star athlete everyone was dying to approach. How in the world did Oliver's presence pass through the shining lights of his day? He really hoped it wasn't some teasing about his love for comic books, or something as equally embarrassing.

"I know this is sudden, but do you wanna come to a party? My parents are out of town, and I wanna commemorate the occasion, you know?"

A senior party? There was no possible way Oliver could have fit in there. That didn't stop him from practically shouting "yes" in response, which made Trent chuckle, and Oliver flush another shade of red.

"Cool. If you wanna talk exercise tips, I can totally give you some. Don't wanna lose the momentum of completing your first mile." Trent slugged Oliver in the shoulder, and Oliver managed to hold in a squeal of excitement. A senior had noticed him, had touched him! And not just to push him out of the way, or give him a wedgie. He couldn't believe when Jeremy had done to that kid in his math class who broke his glasses. What was this? The 90s?

After Trent wrote down his address, Oliver kept it in his pocket, holding onto it the whole way home, as if letting go would mean ripping himself out of this dream state. The second he got home, he went through every last piece of clothing in his closet to find the perfect outfit to wear. He should have asked what a "white party" was, but he didn't want to be embarrassed in case this was common knowledge for anybody who wasn't a total loser.

It was times like these that he really wished he could call Kaz. As much as he didn't like it, Kaz was more in the loop with this kind of stuff. Kaz would probably know what a "white party" was. Plus, a part of him wanted to call Kaz just to rub it in his face that he was going to a senior party. But Oliver didn't really feel like getting into it with Kaz right now. He was in a good place. Why ruin it?

* * *

_Not going for something is like saying you're fine if you don't get it._ That was what Kyler told Kaz one day after they made out on the kitchen counter. That philosophy certainly explained Kyler's actions, which honestly, sounded more like a negative than a positive when it came to Kyler's aggressive nature. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. If Kaz sat around waiting for things to fall in place, who could he blame when they didn't? That was why Kaz took a deep breath before walking into Orbit Comics.

Max was standing at the counter, flipping through a comic book. It was a pretty slow day, but when their eyes met, Max looked like he was center stage in front of a huge audience.

"Hey," Kaz said.

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"Nothing. You?"

"Not much."

Silence.

This was ridiculous. Kaz didn't come here to make awkward small talk, then shuffle to the back of the store and indulge himself in dirty comics. That would have to wait for another day. Now, he was on a mission, and if he could harness even half of Kyler's confidence, then he would be able to pull this off.

"Look, I don't know why you're avoiding me like I killed your cat, but I'm sick of it," Kaz said. "I miss talking to you, and joking around about the customers who come in wearing socks and sandals. If it's about that drawing, I really don't care about it, and I promise I'll never bring it up again, so can we just be friends, again?"

He wasn't used to pouring out his emotions like that, at least with anybody who wasn't Oliver. And Max was looking at him, twisting the cross of the golden chain around his neck, looking like he was having the world's greatest battle unfolding in his head.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to freak out on you. Friends?"

Kaz couldn't fight back the grin that spread across his face when Max extended his hand.

"Friends," he replied as he completed the handshake. "So now that we're friends again, do you want to hang out or something? Go get lunch."

"I'm stuck here all day. Business isn't going that well, but Dad wants me here thinking of a project that'll turn everything around. He'll freak if I'm not here." Max rubbed his side, wincing slightly as his fingers brushed over the area under his shirt.

"Another skateboarding accident?"

"Huh?" Max stared at Kaz for a couple seconds, before his eyes widened. "Oh, yeah. Guess I'm not as good as I think I am. But do you wanna do something tonight I have to wake up early tomorrow, but I can hang out after the shop closes."

Crap. Did he skip out on the party, and risk his social skyrocketing? If anybody was worth ditching a senior's party, it was Max. And now that they had become friends again, wouldn't it be a slap in the face not to take him up on his offer?

"Actually, I promised to go to a party tonight."

He had made plans with Kyler. Of all things, an unspoken promise to someone who he didn't even really consider a friend didn't sound like the most convincing reason, but when Kaz imagined Kyler's disappointed face, he felt bad. Oliver was pissed at him for whatever reason, and even though Kyler could be "too much" a lot of the time, Kaz didn't want to be in the doghouse with someone else.

"Trent Ross's party?"

"Yeah. Are you going?"

"I don't think so. Those white parties…they're not really my thing…"

"So you've been to one of these before? What kind of party is it?"

"It's more of a hook-up thing. The girls wear white bras and panties, and the guys wear white underwear and socks. Everyone pretty much gets wasted, and hooks up somewhere. I only went once, but I didn't drink. It was really uncomfortable."

Dancing around in his underwear, then hooking up? Was this some plan of Kyler's to seduce him or something? Now, Kaz was dreading going to the same party he had been so excited about. But he still had to go. He had to look after Kyler.

Maybe it was karma or something from when Oliver came to rescue him. Or maybe it was because Kaz could spin this into telling Kyler that he wasn't interested in doing anything with him. Or it could have been the confidence that came when Max agreed to come with him to make sure Kyler was okay. He wasn't sure why Max was invested in making sure Kyler was okay, or why he was still rubbing his side, but Kaz went along with it. He had a plan, and he was going to follow it through, with Max.

* * *

Oliver felt like he had stepped into Cirque de Soleil when he Trent opened the door, and he saw the throng of people in white underwear. Was this some mighty orgy waiting to happen Girls he had seen walking around in school, who were usually fairly covered up, were walking around in lacy bras and panties that looked like they belonged to Victoria's Secret. Not that Oliver kept a hidden copy of that very magazine under his bed because Kaz's mom got a free subscription, and Kaz gave it to him as a present. Definitely not.

"Oliver, you came!"

"Yeah, but I'm not…dressed like everyone else."

"Don't worry about it. I got a bunch of stuff in my room. I'm sure there's something in your size."

This was the part where Oliver was supposed to run away, take a thousand showers and try to forget any of this ever happened, but everyone inside looked like they were having fun. And Trent was being so inviting, like he really wanted him there. Plus, he wasn't like Kaz. He wasn't going to drink himself into a stupor that left him unable to make good decisions. He was the responsible one. Oliver gave himself a little pep talk in his head as he followed Trent into the house, and up the stairs to his room to get dressed for the party.

It was a little strange that Trent stayed in the room with him while he changed, but they talked about exercise the whole time, which put Oliver at ease. Most of the stuff was too either too big, or too small, and Trent told him that the tight briefs looked the best on him. Trent said he had nice glutes, and that his leg muscles were getting firm. To prove his point, Trent squeezed his leg muscles, and Oliver fixed them, beaming when Trent's compliments continued to flow.

Oliver also had nice feet. At least, that was what Trent said before he slipped on a pair of clean white socks. He didn't really know if that was true or not, or what separated "nice" feet from "bad" ones, but he blushed at the compliment all the same. When he followed Trent downstairs, Oliver was brimming with confidence.

_Don't say anything nerdy_. That was Oliver's mantra for the night, banning himself from mentioning anything comic book or video game related. He wasn't going to have a geek fest and get laughed at while he was in his underwear. That would just be a little too close to his nightmares for comfort.

"Girls, this is Oliver. He's at the gym every day." The girls looked at each other like they weren't sure whether to laugh or not. That one was a pretty hard blow. "Really. Oliver, turn around and flex your legs."

Oliver followed directions, and one of the girls actually said "wow" when she squeezed the back of his leg. He had just impressed a senior girl. Any doubts he ever had about this party were erased.

He made the rounds with Trent, talking to people he never knew, but not letting his nerves get the best of him. And when someone offered him some white wine, the only drink being served at the party, Trent stepped in and said that he had to get up early to do some circuit training tomorrow. Oliver continued to use that excuse, and stuck to his pledge of remaining sober, despite his curiosity.

He followed Trent up to his room, and crashed on the bed. Oliver wasn't used to standing for this long. Kaz actually sat down on an escalator one, and of course Oliver had to do it too so his best friend didn't look weird. That didn't stop the strange stares, but Oliver couldn't deny it was a good rest on his legs. Playing video games at the mall was hard work.

"So, how's your first white party going?" Trent asked, closing the door behind him. The window was open, leaving the moonlight drizzling from outside as the only light source.

"Great. I was kind of nervous, but I'm really glad I came. Thanks for inviting me."

"No sweat, Oliver." Trent sat on the bed next to Oliver. "That's what white parties are all about, getting out of your comfort zone and having a good time. If you can hang out in your underwear with a bunch of other people, you can do anything."

Oliver hadn't thought of it like that. And now that he had been through it, he believed it.

"How are your legs? A little tired?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Here, bring 'em up. I'll give you a massage."

"You don't have to do that."

"Really. I want to."

He wasn't about to argue with a free massage. Oliver plopped his feet into Trent's lap, the older boy rubbing his feet. His eyes fell shut, and his muscles relaxed. Trent's fingers were like magic. The senior had clearly done this before, a lot of times.

It was hard for Oliver not to nod off like that. Trent's bed was super comfortable, and with those hands working his feet so firmly, Oliver swore he was going to slip right into a dream. But he was never more awake when Trent slipped off his right sock, and he felt a big, wet tongue worming between his toes.

* * *

Kaz had never seen Kyler like this, so ticked off that he couldn't manage even the smallest smile. And that was even after some of Kaz's best jokes. When Kaz went to Kyler's house, Jeremy didn't look very happy either, but still gave his usual friendly greeting. He even asked Max how he had been. What did that mean? Was Max over here to see Kyler regularly?

When Kaz asked him what was wrong with Kyler, Jeremy shrugged his shoulders, which clearly meant that he did know, and just wasn't telling. Kaz didn't pry. Jeremy wasn't really in a talking mood.

Still, Kyler insisted on going to the party, so Kaz and Max followed him to Trent's house, which looked like a music video set with all the nearly naked beautiful people. He grabbed Kaz and Max, leading them up the stairs to a bathroom to change.

It was weird. Kaz didn't have a better word to describe striping to a pair of tight white briefs, socks, and a tank top in front of Kyler and Max. Kyler was thin, but he had that incredible bubble butt and a fair amount of definition in his chest. And Max had a set of abs Kaz wanted to kiss until his lips were dry, but Kaz didn't have hot bodies like them, like everyone else at the party.

It did help that Max seemed just as apprehensive and Kaz detected the slightest blush in the Latino boy's cheeks when he pulled his pants down. Kyler said he had a nice big butt, and Oliver liked to grab it whenever they used to…maybe he did have an okay body after all.

Although Kyler had entered the party with a sour mood, by his third cup of white wine, he was bubbly and flirty like he always was. Kaz watched Kyler grind on guys, and was in awe. Was this what he had been like when he was drunk? Honestly, it looked kind of fun. These same guys, muscled jocks and star athletes who had girls lining up to worship them, were huddled around Kyler like he was a piece of meat. Kaz was a little jealous that Kyler could get away with this kind of stuff, and not have to deal with the repercussions next Monday.

Then again, Kaz couldn't say he was envious of all the whispering that went on, everywhere. He didn't want to come to school to find his locker stuffed with gay porn pictures from the Internet and used condoms. Kyler laughed it off, and said that it was going to be a wild week, but Kaz caught that look on his face when Kyler opened his locker: that flash of emotion that made Kaz want to cry for him. And Kaz didn't cry.

He noticed one guy's hand sliding to the back of Kyler's underwear, but Kyler kept dancing, grinning like he had just found hidden treasure. Kaz wanted to run over and stop him, but if Kyler wanted it, what right did he have to stop him? Max couldn't have looked more uncomfortable, and Kaz felt bad for dragging him. This clearly wasn't the older boy's scene, which he was a little glad for, because this really wasn't his either. People were starting to make out on the dance floor, and once bras and boxers started falling off, couples and threesomes headed upstairs, or down to the bathroom.

"You can go if you want," Kaz said. "I wanna make sure Kyler's okay."

Max smiled. "Me too."

Were they having a moment? Because it totally felt like one. But before he could think too much into it, he noticed that Kyler was gone.

Great.

* * *

Oliver squirmed, clutching the bed sheets and shutting his eyes while Trent sucked on his toes. The wet sensation wasn't unpleasant, but he didn't even know Trent. Things were moving way too fast. But how did he tell the senior that had made him so comfortable the whole night that, right now, he was feeling really uncomfortable?

"Trent, wait…" Oliver pulled his foot away from Trent's mouth, his heart beating so fast that it hurt a little. "I'm straight."

"So am I? So is every guy in this party, but like I said, it's about getting out of your comfort zone and having fun. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. It'll feel good."

Trent climbed on top of him, and Oliver pressed his hands against the older boy's chest. "Really. I'm cool with you having fun, but I don't think it should be with me."

His words fell on deaf ears, and Oliver gasped when he felt that warm tongue in his ear. This was totally different than it had been with Kaz. He tried to push Trent away, but the senior outweighed him with his firm muscles. What should he do? Scream for help? With the music playing downstairs, would anybody even hear him? But he wasn't just going to sit here and take this. He had said no. No.

Oliver punched Trent in the face, and ran for the door, gasping when Trent slammed him against the door. Trent was holding his wrists above his head, and grabbing him, tight.

"You tell anyone about this, and you'll regret it."

After Trent let him go, Oliver ran. He was in his underwear, and his clothes were still in Trent's house, but he didn't care. He kept running, and moved even faster when tears started flowing from his eyes. Oliver didn't know where he was going, but he didn't want to stop. If he couldn't run to Kaz's porch, where else could he go?

* * *

Why did he care so much? Kaz had seen how flirtatious could be, and with a couple drinks in his system, there was no telling what he would do. Actually, Kaz knew exactly what Kyler was doing right now. He was doing the same thing he had done to Max at the last party. If Kyler liked sucking dick, Kaz wasn't going to judge him, but for whatever reason, Kyler was emotional and upset, and this sounded like the kind of thing he would regret in the morning, so Kaz checked room after room, walking in girls fingering themselves, guys jerking off onto each others' faces, and a lot of toe sucking.

When the guy Kyler who had groped Kyler under his briefs walked out of the bathroom, Kaz ran over to him. "Where's Kyler?"

"Who? Hey, aren't you Kaz, the guy who does that crazy toucan impression. Do it for me, just one time! Please!"

Another fan. He would have loved to indulge this guy, and have his ego stroked a little, but his nerves were really getting the better of him. "The guy you were dancing with. Really flirty. Really nice butt."

"Oh, he freaked out, and lost it. Slut."

Kaz curled his hands into fists, but downstairs, the music stopped and there was a booming voice that Kaz recognized. Seconds later, Jeremy came up the stairs, carrying Kyler on his back. The younger boy was completely naked, save for his one white left sock, and was unconscious. Whether Kyler had blacked out, or sleeping, Kaz didn't know.

"I'm gonna take Kyler home. You okay, Kaz?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Is he…"

"Passed out. He'll be fine. I'll catch you later, okay?"

"Yeah."

The party was pretty much over after that. Kaz got dressed, and found Max. On their way out, Kaz noticed that Trent had a black eye, and a bloody nose.

"Thanks for coming with me," Kaz said. "I guess it was all for nothing, though. I didn't do a very good job of looking after Kyler."

"You tried, and that's a lot more than most people would do. You're a good friend."

There was that word again. But Kaz didn't argue. After everything that happened, he wasn't about to quibble over a title. Because maybe that was the closest word there was to describe his relationship with Kyler. Maybe it was more of a feeling, one that didn't have a proper verbal translation.

"My dad's gonna kill me for being so late. I have to get up early tomorrow."

"You can blame me."

"Nah, but thanks. Since we missed our chance today, do you wanna do something tomorrow? Lunch in the park around noon?"

Kaz blushed. "Yeah, that sounds cool." And when Max smiled, Kaz couldn't help doing the same.

"Great. Then I'll see you tomorrow. Night, Kaz."

"Night, Max."

Max took off in a jog, but Kaz took his time walking home. The last five minutes had been an emotional roller coaster, but this was a high. Things were looking up.

* * *

**And that finishes an emotional fourth chapter!**

** A lot went on, but hopefully it had you engaged in the emotions!**

** I had the idea for the "white party" a while ago, and was going to be a Mighty Med one-shot with Kaz, Oliver, and Gus, and be full of steamy slash, but I decided to give it an emotional context, and incorporate it here. **

** As always, I appreciate any comments about the story, so be sure to let me know what you think!**


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